Trouble in Paradise
by Kemnam
Summary: Bakugo isn't that excited to be going to Hawaii for the umpteenth time, but at least he'll finally get away from the stress of school and the insanity of his classmates. The chances of running into any of them here is next to zero. Right?
1. Day 1: Arrival

_Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or its characters._

* * *

 _Day 1: Arrival_

* * *

It couldn't have been a more beautiful day. The sun was bright and blazing in the lightly cloudy sky above, but the sea breeze was just strong enough to drive off the heat. Palm trees swayed over white sand beaches, where waves of pure blue water crashed majestically. Seabirds drifted on warm currents of air, hungrily eyeing the scores of fish just below the surface of the water. In the opposite direction, the looming summit of Mauna Kea towered above the ocean, its presence like a guardian, reassuring all those who gazed upon it.

Katsuki Bakugo was already tired of Hawaii. And he wasn't even off the plane yet.

"I'll never get tired of coming here." His father sighed, leaning past his son to look out the window. "It's like paradise."

Katsuki scowled, feeling the plane bump along as it taxied down the tarmac. "Right. Whatever you say, old man."

"Just ignore him honey," his mom spoke up, sitting forward with a grin. "You know the brat's just irritated because he can't take off his mitts yet."

Bakugo jerked in his seat, irritated not only from being called a brat, but also because she was right. It wasn't his fault that he was required by law to wear these stupid suppressors. He wasn't going to blow up the plane, for fuck's sake. Glaring down at the gloves, Katsuki lamented about how counter-intuitive the stupid suppressors were - they made his hands sweat even more than usual, and the velcro strapped around his arms itched like the devil. The fact that the damn things looked like oven mitts only pissed him off even more.

The plane rolled to a stop and the seat belt light blinked off before Katsuki could roar a response to his mother. The urge to get off the cramped jet overwhelmed the need to defend himself, and he quickly unbuckled his seat belt. Practically crawling over his parents' laps, their complaints and protests falling deaf upon his ears, Katsuki snagged his travel bag from the overhead bin and quickly snaked his way up the aisle to the front. The door hadn't even been opened yet. The stewardess gave Katsuki a confused expression as he tapped his foot impatiently. When the stairs had been rolled up to the plane and the door finally opened, Katsuki nearly flew out of the plane like a bat out of hell. The humidity hit him like a wet blanket, but he couldn't find it in himself to care as he double-jumped the stairs and quickly trudged his way into the air conditioned airport.

That was as far as he could go on his own. Next was immigration, and his father had his passport. But Katsuki knew that his parents would be right behind him. He turned just in time to see his folks running past the other passengers on the tarmac, his father apologizing profusely to them all. His mother, on the other hand was seething. She sure moved fast, Katsuki realized. For an old lady.

"Stop doing that!" Mitsuki shrieked, slapping her son upside the head so hard that he saw a flash of white. "You do that every time we land, and it pisses me off!"

"Then maybe you should stop dragging me along on all your lame vacations! Ever think of that?" Katsuki snarled, rubbing the back of his head through his mitt.

"Like we could ever trust you to stay home alone," his mother grumbled, hoisting her bag over her shoulder as she spun to head towards immigration.

Katsuki heard his father sigh as the two of them fell in step behind her. Before they got in line, Masaru handed the boy his passport. "I know you hate travelling, but try to have fun, okay?"

"You said that last year," Katsuki growled.

After immigration was baggage claim. His mother, much to his chagrin, had to help him wrestle his bag off of the moving carousel, since the suppressors on his hands were too thick to grab the small straps. Just like before, Katsuki zoomed ahead of his parents, making a direct course for the entrance to the airport. As the sliding door opened and the humid sea air wafted over him once more, Katsuki squinted into the bright sunlight. He would have put his sunglasses on, but they were clipped to his shirt collar and his mitts weren't dexterous enough to handle them. As soon as he was completely outside he let his suitcase fall gracelessly to the floor and immediately began brushing at the velcro of his suppressors.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Another smack across the head. "You know you can't take those off yet. Not till your at least half a mile away from the airport, you dumb kid!"

Katsuki screamed through gritted teeth. He always forgot about that part! Stupid Americans and their stupid paranoia. Spinning on his parents, he felt his hands ignite within the suppressors.

"Then let's hurry up and get the damn rental car already!"

They couldn't hit the road fast enough. Katsuki hissed and spat in the back seat like a feral cat, but it felt like the velcro was beginning to rub away his skin. When his father finally gave him the okay, he began tearing at the mitts with his teeth. As soon as his hands were finally free, Katsuki sat back and gave a long sigh, the cool air tingling his arms. Sure enough, there were red rings around his arms where the velcro had chaffed him. Before he could throw the infernal suppressors out the car window, his mom snatched them away. Now that he wasn't slowly being driven insane, Katsuki looked out the window and truly took in the Hawaiian view.

When his parents had told him that they would be going to Hawaii at the beginning of summer break, he had been notably less than excited. _Again?_ He had thought. His parents had a friend, who also happened to be wealthy client, that had connections in Hawaii, and could get them a good deal on a hotel. Sure, it had been fun the first couple of times that they took advantage of that deal, but then Bakugo quickly found himself growing tired of the tropical, tourist-filled, dream destination. It wasn't that there was nothing to do - it was just that the illusion of paradise and escape didn't work on him anymore. But his parents were still enchanted with the place, so they kept coming back. Of course, they couldn't leave their son at home alone for a week. Thus, Katsuki's current whereabouts. They could have at least waited to come in March, Katsuki lamented. At least it wouldn't have been as crowded then, since all the American kids wouldn't be on their summer break as well. And July was the hottest damn month of the year, for gods sake.

There was one perk that Katsuki could think of this time around as he slipped his sunglasses on; he would finally get a break from school and all his ridiculous classmates - especially one in particular. The possibility of running into any of those losers in Hawaii was beyond small.

As the hotel rolled into view, the young man tried to stifle his groan. The resort, misnamed _The Sea Cliffs_ despite not being anywhere near a steep drop, was a nice place without a doubt. It was one of the hotels where lesser known celebrities might stay. But it was big, it was popular, and over-hyped, in Katsuki's honest opinion. They held a luau every week and offered up a good portion of beach privately to their guests. A beach that hosted most of their other activities for a price. It was the ideal place to stay when coming to Hawaii, and yet Katsuki had come to think of it as mediocre. As they pulled the car up to the valet stand, Katsuki could already tell that the resort was full to capacity. Perfect. Nothing said "Welcome to Hawaii" like a bunch of fat lards taking up all the space on the beach.

He stepped out of the car and a peppy fake hula girl greeted him cheerfully and placed a lei of white and yellow flowers over his head. Before he could rip it off, two more followed suit and smothered him with pink and purple leis that smelled like they had just been taken out of cold storage. His parents, equally assaulted with the necklaces, were smiling and laughing, saying thank you over and over again in both English and Japanese. They slowly made their way through the welcome party and into the open lobby that lead straight to the beach, which was just as crowded as Katsuki expected it would be.

Yep, he decided. This vacation was going to suck.

While his parents checked in, he leaned sloppily against the counter and tried to get his phone to connect the the hotel's WiFi. The girl behind the desk - who, ironically, might have been an actual native - handed his parents the keys to their room. It seemed to take longer than it usually did, long enough for his parents to ask about it.

"Yes, I'm sorry." The girl replied. "We've been a little busy trying to rearrange rooms in order to make room for last minute guests that won some kind of contest. The hotel that was originally going to take them changed its mind for some reason."

Katsuki huffed a laugh. What poor mooks would join a contest just to go to Hawaii? If you couldn't afford to come here on your own, then just don't come.

"Oh, I think that's them, actually!" The receptionist pointed across the lobby.

Katsuki just barely looked up from his phone over his sunglasses to get a glance at the contest winners before returning his attention back to the screen in front of him. The WiFi had some serious lag issues-

With a shock, Katsuki's head snapped back up as he fully registered the fact that there was a familiar face across the lobby. He almost dropped his phone.

"Oh, _fuck no_."

* * *

Hawaii had to be the most beautiful place in the world, hands down.

Ochaco couldn't stop spinning around, taking in the sights with a silly wide-mouthed smile on her face. She had never seen anywhere like it, it was so different from Japan in all the good ways. Palm trees with actual coconuts growing on them, blue crystal clear water, and an enormous volcano to top it all off. She never would have imagined that she would be visiting Hawaii with her parents while she was still young. When they had told her that they had won the all-expenses-paid trip, Ochaco had honestly been a little miffed, because there went one of her key motivations for becoming a pro. But that was extremely short-lived. She was going to Hawaii!

Maybe she could take them to Fiji next time.

"Aloha!" She said cheerfully as the hula girls laid more flower necklaces over her head. The wonderful greeting had become Ochaco's new favorite word.

She was exhausted, to be honest, since she was too excited to sleep during the eight hour flight like she was supposed to. It was weird to think that they had left home in the evening, and then arrived in Hawaii at an earlier time on the same day. But the exhilaration of traveling to a new place reinvigorated her as soon as the plane touched the ground. Someone had been waiting for them at the airport, holding up a sign with their names written on it. After exchanging greetings with the young man, whose name was Jason, they were quickly herded through the airport and out into a fancy Jeep that had already been loaded up with all of their baggage.

That was the first real look that Ochaco had gotten of Hawaii that wasn't from a plane window. The land around the airport had been terraformed to make room for runways and terminals, but in the distance she could see the line of trees and hear the faint noise of crashing waves. With her face pressed to the car window, Ochaco and her parents pointed out every new and bizzare thing they saw to each other - which was pretty much everything. And then they saw the hotel.

At first, Ochaco thought that it must have been a mall. Only a mall could possibly be that big. But then they pulled into the covered drop off area, and she realized with a gasp that they were going to be _staying_ here. Beautiful girls wearing grass skirts and coconut bras had greeted them excitedly. The lobby of the hotel was so large, and Ochaco had been too in awe at everything she looked at that she almost missed all of what Jason had been telling them about the perks and pleasures during their stay. The boy, who might have only been a few years older than Ochaco and had tiger-like stripes on his tan skin, gave them all plastic cards that would get them into the breakfast buffet, dinner restaurants, and any beverage anywhere in the resort for free. Her parents got blue cards while she got green, to distinguish that she wasn't allowed to get hard liquor. All activities that they offered at the resort would also be discounted for them.

"And yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it!" Jason ended his speech with a smile as he turned to the Uraraka's. His Japanese wasn't bad, though he spoke with a heavy accent. "Do you guys have any questions so far?"

"I have one," her father said with a raised hand. "Where can I get one of those shirts?"

Jason was wearing a wildly colorful shirt. It was a bright orange button-up t-shirt with repeating patterns of palm trees and crashing waves. It seemed pretty obnoxious - but everyone seemed to be wearing a variety of the same thing, so it must have been a local thing. Jason laughed and rubbed a hand over the fabric of the shirt.

"Believe me, there'll be plenty of time for you guys to do some shopping. Then, you can pick out your own Hawaiian shirt."

Ochaco chuckled, because the image of her father wearing such an outrageous shirt was too much. As she looked around the extravagant lobby and out onto the white sand beach on the other side, she suddenly felt an odd, unexplainable chill down her spine.

"So let's go ahead and get you guys settled, and then for dinner we'll be-"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Ochaco snapped her head around at the outburst. Strange, she thought. That sounded a lot like-

"Hey! I'm talking to you, Pink Cheeks!"

Ochaco jerked, because there had only ever been one other instance in her life where she had heard those words used as a name, and only one other person that used it in that tone of voice. Scanning the lobby, Ochaco tried to locate the source - but it was difficult, since the voice reverberated through the large lobby and all the bright colors were extremely distracting. Her parents were also looking around, alerted by the strange behavior of their daughter. Squinting her eyes, Ochaco peered through the crowd. There was no way he could possibly be-

There, by the front desk. No wonder she hadn't spotted him right away. Ochaco had never seen him in anything other than school uniforms and his hero costume. In regular clothes, he didn't seem quite as overbearing. But maybe that was because she couldn't see his eyes, since they were hidden behind a pair of red-tinted aviators. But his face, which was the same color as his glasses, was contorted into a scowl. Needless to say, Bakugo looked like he always did.

"Honey," her father mumbled to her. "Do you know that boy?"

Ochaco and her parents watched as a women who couldn't have been anyone other than Bakugo's mother roughly grab his ear and started screaming at him. The man next to them, his father presumably, turned to stare back at the Uraraka's. With a nervous smile and a small wave of her hand, Ochaco gave a short laugh. To say that she was alarmed to run into Bakugo in Hawaii would be an understatement, much less the same hotel on the same day. Those odds must have been impossible, and yet here they were.

"Hey Bakugo!" She called out to him. Her words seemed to rile him up more. "What a surprise! Who would have thought that we'd meet up with... each... other?"

Bakugo had broken out of his mother's grasp and was stomping his way across the lobby towards her. Ripping the sunglasses off of his face, Bakugo glared at Ochaco with so much fury that she couldn't help but scream out in terror as he towered over her.

* * *

There must be some force in the universe that really had it out for Katsuki. He didn't know if it was karma, God, or maybe that bastard Odin for all he knew, but they must hate him for some reason, and it must have been a good one in order for them to mess with him like this. Because really _what the hell?!_ Why did it have to be her? In this hotel? _On this island?_ As he surged his way across the lobby and stepped into her personal space, Uraraka squealed and brought her hands up to protect herself. But he stopped with his face inches from hers and his hands balled into fists at his side. He spoke lowly.

"I'm only going to ask this one more time," he growled. "What the hell are you doing here?"

She blinked up at him, her voice sticking in her throat. The two adults with her, her parents he realized, could only stare in shock as their daughter was yelled at by a boy they had never met. Before she could spit out a coherent answer, some loser in a blinding Hawaiian shirt stepped forward with a serious look on his face.

"Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to please step away from-"

"Shut up, Hobbes!" Katsuki snapped, "We're classmates, alright? I'm not some random-"

His oncoming rant was cut short by his shirt collar suddenly rising up to close off his windpipe. Yanking her son away from the poor girl and her family with a powerful pull, Mitsuki held the boy aloft by the back of his shirt much like one would with the scruff of a kittens neck.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" She reprimanded, but Katsuki didn't take his eyes off of Uraraka, who's face suddenly turned red as she slapped a hand over her mouth. Was she _laughing at him?_

"I am _so_ sorry about our son," Masaru was already bent over in a bow of apology. "He's just a little jet-lagged from the long-"

"Hey, wait a minute..." His mom blinked at Ochaco, recognition dawning over her features. "I know you. You're the girl that almost whooped our son's ass in the sports festival!"

"Mom!"

"Oh... oh, yes!" Mr. Uraraka suddenly perked up. "Yes, that's right. Our little Ochaco couldn't stop talking about you after that day.

"DAD!" Uraraka screamed.

Their parents chuckled. Red flags raised in Katsuki's head, but he wasn't sure why.

A conversation was struck up, with Hobbes slinking away to take care of matters for the Uraraka's. Katsuki sneered, uncomfortable with his folks getting so chummy with Pink Cheek's parents, but with his mom's hand on the back of his neck he remained silent. Said girl was staring at him, her big brown eyes wide and mouth hanging open like he was a monkey in a zoo pissing him off even more. The lei of pink and purple flowers seemed to give her plump cheeks even more color than usual, but that could have also been the lighting in the lobby. Like everyone else, she was dressed lightly in a light blue spaghetti strap top and jean shorts with flip flops, revealing the creamy skin of her legs and shoulders. Katsuki couldn't help but scoff - she was gonna get so fucking sunburned. Serves her right for impeding on his vacation like this.

"I know how he could make up his rude behavior to you!" His mom's words suddenly caught his attention. When he looked up at her, she had a twinkle in her eyes that sent a shiver down his spine. Smiling down at him, his mother spoke smoothly and sweetly. "Honey, why don't you show these nice people around tomorrow, since you're familiar with the resort? Take them to see all that there is to do, and work on your English while you're at it."

There was so much wrong with those sentences that Katsuki didn't even know where to begin. "My English is just fine, woman!"

"Ours isn't." Uraraka's mom spoke up, giving Katsuki a bright smile that was the exact clone of her daughters. "And I'm sure Jason has other things he needs to be doing, since this place is so busy. But, of course, only if you're not doing anything."

Uraraka seemed just as surprised by her mother's words as Katsuki was. Even her father was giving his wife a sidelong glance, which went away as soon as she lightly slapped his arm. Mrs. Uraraka was looking at him in such a friendly way that he could barely keep his own mouth from smiling back. Even so, Katsuki knew when to respect his elders, despite giving his own parents a bunch of crap. The hand on the back of Katsuki's neck tightened, reminding him that his mother was expecting him to simply go along with whatever plan she was concocting. Clearly, she was trying to slough him off onto these people, maybe so she and his dad could do whatever they wanted without him - but that didn't make a lot of sense, since he always went off on his own anyway. It must have been something else.

"No, of course he's not busy!" Mitsuki blurted, since he was taking too long to respond. "So it's settled. How about we meet up for breakfast?"

Plans were made over Katsuki's and Uraraka's heads, who were helpless to do anything but watch as their parents became fast friends. Groaning, Katsuki deflated as any potential for this vacation to not totally blow went straight down the drain. During this time, Hobbes came back and gave the Uraraka's the keys to their room - which just so happened to be one floor above their own. Perfect. Uraraka and Katsuki stared at each other in silence, neither of them sure what to make of this situation that they found themselves in. With apprehensiveness, Uraraka smiled at him, the expression more apologetic than anything else. Huffing a sigh, Katsuki cast his eyes down and away from her, conceding to the fact that he was going to be stuck in Hawaii with Pink Cheeks to keep him company.

It could be worse, he tried to tell himself. At least it wasn't Deku.

They all managed to cram themselves and their luggage into the same golden elevator. Sandwiched between his father and his suitcase, Katsuki glared up at the floor display, which couldn't get to the 8th floor fast enough. His parents and her were still talking, talking about the luau that was going on in a couple of days. They sounded excited, excited to be going together which just made Katsuki want to blow up his own head. The elevator dinged for their floor and the doors opened. Spilling out, the Bakugo's and Uraraka's waved bye to each other. Locking eyes with the girl one last time, Katsuki tried to send her a silent message with his face - don't screw this up more than it already is. As the doors closed to take them one floor higher, her expression suddenly changed to one of determination and purpose. It was the same face he saw during the sports festival, and it made his heart skip a beat.

"Stop glaring at the elevator and let's go, Katsuki," his mom called, she and his dad already halfway through the sand-colored halls.

Taking an extra moment to organize his thoughts, Katsuki spun and followed his parents to the room. Maybe there was still a way to salvage this doomed vacation. If he played all of his cards right. But first, he needed to have a _word_ with his parents.

* * *

Ochaco gasped at the size of their room. Her apartment could have easily fit in it at least two times. The two queen sized beds were fluffier than clouds when she flopped down on one, and the balcony out the window overlooked the sea. Beautiful painting of sunsets on beaches hung over the beds. The bathroom was large enough to have both a bath tub and a shower. They even got their own little kitchen area, complete with a sink and a set of pantries. The mini fridge was fully stocked and there was a basket of fruit waiting for them. If they never left this room during their entire stay, that would have been vacation enough.

"This is pretty neat," her father said as he came out of the bathroom. "Gotta say, all this is going beyond my expectations."

"It's easy to go beyond your expectation when you don't have any," her mom chuckled, already hanging up their clothes in the small closet. "Frankly, I'm just happy to be here!"

Ochaco looked up at her mother, remembering the conversation in the lobby. Something had been bugging her.

"Mom? Why did you say that your English isn't very good?" Sitting up on the bed, she noticed that her mother had stopped in her proceedings. "I thought you guys knew English really well, since you have a lot of American contractors. Or is that wrong?"

Turning to face her daughter, the woman stumbled for an answer. But then her father spoke up.

"Our English is only considered good when dealing with construction and business." The man sat down on the other bed. "But when it comes to conversations about anything else, I'm afraid even we fall short with vocabulary."

"Oh." Ochaco looked down. That made sense, she guessed. Her own English was limited to what Present Mic had taught them in class and what little she had picked up from her parents. "I hope Bakugo's English is better than mine."

"Weren't you listening?" Her mom closed the closet door. "They said that they've been coming here for years. I wouldn't be surprised if the boy was practically fluent by now."

You would be surprised, Mom." Ochaco bit her lip. "Bakugo's not really much of a conversationalist."

"You know what they say, honey," her father said. "Those who have the most to say never do."

For some reason, Ochaco doubted that was the case. But she shrugged it off, standing to go out on the balcony and take in the view. The sun was low in the sky, but not setting just yet. In a while, Jason was going to come along and take them to dinner. From this height, she could see all the way out to the horizon, where the ocean met the sky in two subtly different shades of blue. This was paradise, for sure. But... she had to admit, some of the appeal had been ruined for her, knowing she was going to have to share it with Bakugo.

Shaking her head, Ochaco dismissed the idea. Such a bitter thought, she told herself. It wasn't fair to think that Bakugo would be as bitter and callous outside of school as he was in the classroom. Even if he did almost blow her to smithereens, or that Deku had told her how he was always hot-tempered even when they were kids. Okay, so it was going to be a little hard to give Bakugo the benefit of the doubt, but she had to try. Besides, it wasn't like their parents could force them to hang out together, anyway. And judging from the looks he kept giving her, he probably preferred it that way. But maybe - just maybe - they could find a way to get along. If that ever happened, Ochaco had no doubt that the two of them could actually have a lot of fun together.

Leaning against the railing, Ochaco took a deep breathe of the salty sea air, feeling herself relax and her mind begin to settle into an exhausted numbness. What ever happened, there was no way she was going to let Katsuki Bakugo ruin her vacation.

* * *

A/N: Hello! So this is my first long-standing Kacchako story! One which I must admit is going to be unbearably cute. I mean, like, _disgustingly cute_. But that doesn't mean that it isn't going to be in character. In fact, I'm making an effort for this to be as real worldly and accurate as possible. Except for honorifics, which I don't know enough about to use correctly and also personally don't find them necessary.

Expect some polls to go along with this story because I have a lot of ideas and can't use them all. In the mean time, please leave a review and tell me what you think. Can't say for sure whether or not there'll be constant update schedule, so bear with me!

Till next time, enjoy!


	2. Day 2: Part 1 - The Set Up

_Day 2: Part 1 - The Set Up_

* * *

Katsuki's parents had pulled a lot of crap through the years; tricking him into running errands for them, daring him to get chores done. They knew that if they ever wanted to get their son to do anything, the easiest way to do it was to tell him he couldn't. Once, however, they had lured him to their design studio by making him think there was an emergency. When he got there, however, the next thing Katsuki knew, he was changing in and out of costumes and getting his picture taken. That was the first and last time that he ever modeled for his parents.

But this... this one took the cake.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

His mom jerked a thumb at the closed bathroom door. "Does this sound like a joke to you?"

The sound of his father heaving loudly came from the other side of the door as if on queue, soon followed by a noise similar to that of splashing water. Narrowing his eyes, Katsuki pinched his lips and leered up at his mother. Did she honestly think he was stupid enough to fall for this?

"Looks like pops has a serious case of altitude sickness." Mitsuki quirked her lips in a poor show of concern for her husband.

Katsuki had to clench his hands into fists to keep them from exploding. "You don't get altitude sickness when you go lower in elevation, idiot!"

"Then it's food poisoning! Don't argue with your mother!" She snapped back. "Either way, I need to stay here and take care of him, so you'll have go meet those lovely people for breakfast without us."

This was so incredibly moronic that Katsuki didn't even know what to say. He had been waiting all morning for his parents to wake up and get ready, but when he went to investigate what the hold-up was, this was what he found. Of all the ways for his vacation to start, this was definitely less than desirable.

"Oh for crying out-you know what? Fine. Fine!" Katsuki whirled away from his mom and grabbed his knapsack. Snapping the drawstrings shut, he slung the bag over his shoulder and headed for the door. "You two have seriously lost your minds. And you're insane if you think I'm going to spend one second of my vacation with those losers!"

The door to their hotel room slammed shut, which the neighbors probably didn't appreciate. Sighing, Mitsuki shook her head as the door to the bathroom creaked open behind her. Masaru, face red with embarrassment, peeked out at his wife.

"Do you really think he'll ditch them?" He asked.

A ghost of a smile touched her lips. "Nah. He never likes to disappoint people, no matter how much trouble it's worth." Looking over her shoulder, she said with a large grin. "So, you ready for those massages?"

It seemed that Mitsuki knew her own son better than he did. As the elevator carried him down, Katsuki tapping his foot impatiently, he couldn't stop thinking about Uraraka and her parents. How they would be waiting there for his family while he was off enjoying himself and his parents were messing around doing whatever. He could picture the disheartened looks on their faces when they realized that their new friends had left them high and dry. Scoffing to himself, Katsuki tried to shrug it off. They could get over it. It wasn't his fault his parents were flakes. In fact, if Uraraka had been paying attention, she probably already expected him to be a no-show. And besides, it wasn't like he cared about what Pink Cheeks and her family thought about him and his. Growling to himself, Katsuki slapped a hand over his eyes, because who was he kidding, _of course_ he cared. Knowing that he would lose what little respect he had from the Uraraka's because his parents were idiots was frustrating - probably more frustrating than it should have been.

The elevator doors opened to the bright, sunny lobby. Stepping out of the elevator, Katsuki stopped and looked to the left, where the breakfast buffet had been set up, and then to the right, where the beach waited for him. Both areas were already relatively crowded, despite the early hour. So either way, it was going to be annoying. But he couldn't stand the idea of anybody having a bad opinion of him or his folks when it wasn't even his fault. Only his enemies were supposed to hate him. Uraraka, though she might not have really been his friend, was definitely not an enemy.

"Son of a bitch." Katsuki mumbled as he headed towards the buffet.

* * *

This shouldn't have been a hard decision. But Ochaco had been standing in front the large mirror in their bathroom for almost ten minutes now holding up the two bathing suits against her body. One was a cute floral print two-piece that her parents had gotten her solely for this vacation, but might have been a little revealing now that she knew Bakugo was going to see her in it. The other was the school uniform one-piece that she had brought on a whim because she knew that she needed more than one, and it was the only other swimsuit she had. But Ochaco knew that she was going to get at least a little tan, and getting weird tan lines wasn't the ideal souvenir to take home.

Groaning in frustration, Ochaco went with cute over modest. It wasn't like she was going to be spending the entire day with Bakugo and his family, and chances were he was probably going to split the first chance he got. If anything, she would wear her tank top over it. Plus, Ochaco told herself, she didn't really care what Bakugo thought about her. It probably wasn't much, but still. In the end, she was probably going to get the nice vacation with her parents that Ochaco had been hoping for.

However, when she left the bathroom, the room was still dark. Her parents were still fast asleep. Checking the clock on the bedside table, Ochaco quirked an eyebrow as she approached her parent's bed. It wasn't very early in the morning, and they had all gone straight to bed after dinner last night. With a little more than the usual eight hours of sleep that the Uraraka's usually got, she had awoken easily and was raring to go. Ochaco had thought that she had seen her parents stirring when she went into the bathroom, but maybe she was mistaken.

"Hey," she spoke softly, bending over towards her father's face. "Are you guys gonna get up? We promised we'd meet Bakugo and his parents for breakfast."

Her dad's eyes fluttered open unevenly. Lifting his head slightly from the pillow, her father blinked blearily at the clock. With a sharp intake of breath and a groan, he flopped his head back down on the pillow.

"Sorry sweety, we totally forgot." His words were still blurred with sleep. "I guess jet-lag hits you a lot harder when you get older." Turning his head to peek at his daughter with one eye, he continued. "But you look like you're all ready to go. So how about you go ahead and head down there, and we'll meet up with you later, okay? Mommy and I just need a little while longer, I promise."

Standing up straight, Ochaco looked over at her mother, who continued sleeping peacefully. Normally, her parents were early risers, up at the break of dawn and out the door before the sun came up. They worked late nights as well, sometimes all through the night getting projects done and finishing estimates for clients and the like. They never complained about a lack of sleep. In fact, even on their days off, they still got up early - almost like they were incapable of sleeping late. It made sense, Ochaco thought, that a new room in a new place after a long day of traveling would wear them out so much. If sleeping a little while longer was part of their vacation, then she wasn't going to say otherwise.

"Okay," she said as she turned and grabbed the small wallet she had brought and her sunglasses. "You promise you'll catch up?"

Her father smiled up at her. "I promise. But don't feel like you need to wait for us. I'm sure the Bakugos will understand. And they seem like a lot of fun, so you probably won't even notice that we're gone."

Ochaco's only thought was that she and her her father seemed to have two very different definitions of "fun". But as she watched her fathers eyes slip closed again, any protest she might have voiced got caught in her throat. Bending over, Ochaco planted a kiss to her fathers head, which made him smile.

"Just don't take too long, okay?" Ochaco didn't mean to sound whiny, but a part of her was a little bummed. This was their first big family vacation, and she was starting it off with the wrong family.

As she was headed out the door, she heard her mother softly call her name. "Remember your manners, okay honey?"

With a promise that she would, Ochaco gently closed the door to their hotel room and headed for the elevator. With a sigh, Ochaco stepped into the shiny compartment and pressed the button for the ground floor. At least, she hoped it was the ground floor. The button said LΘϐBY, and she didn't know what that meant. But it had a little star next to it, so she was pretty sure it was the right one. After a moment of weightlessness as the carriage began to descend, Ochaco slumped against the skinny handrail. Okay, so maybe this vacation wasn't really going how she had pictured it. Granted, she hadn't taken into account the idea that Bakugo would be here, too. Biting her lip, Ochaco allowed herself a moment of mild anger, her grip tightening on the rail. Why did it have to be him? Practically anybody else in her class would have been better - gosh, even Mineta, though the thought sent a shiver down her spine.

Why couldn't it have been Deku?

Releasing her grip on the railing, Ochaco took a deep breath and stood straight. Shaking off her dark thoughts, the elevator dinged and the golden doors opened to the bright lobby and a new day. As she stepped out of the elevator, Ochaco felt a rising determination to have fun with the Bakugo's rising in her chest. If she stayed positive, kept an open mind, and genuinely got to know Bakugo's parents, then maybe - _just maybe_ \- she could still end up having a good time. Bakugo's mom actually seemed like a wonderful woman, even if she looked like and older, female version of her son. If she could start up a conversation with her, then perhaps she wouldn't even have to talk to the boy. He might not like it, but it was only until her parents caught up with her.

Yeah, she could to that, Ochaco decided.

Following the smell of waffles and coffee, Ochaco headed for the small covered patio where she could see the silver trays of food. All the tables seemed full, and the bright light of the sun turned everybody into silhouettes. Presenting her card to the hostess at the seating stand, the girl smiled and said something in English that Ochaco couldn't quite catch, but she smiled and nodded and made her way into the dining area. Squinting her eyes against the bright light, Ochaco looked around for the loudest three people sharing a table.

It was actually his hair that caught her attention first. The sun tinted his already pale hair to a silvery sheen that would have made most American girls jealous. Bakugo was sitting at a table on the edge of the patio, one leg propped on the other as he swirled a mug of coffee in front of him. He had those same red aviators on his head, and was wearing a black tank top over his swim shorts. A knapsack with a skull on it rested on the table. He seemed bored, his flip-flopped foot jumping impatiently on top of his knee. He didn't have any food on the table either.

And it was him. Just him. _Alone._

Where were his parents? They weren't in line to get food, they weren't sitting at a different table. Ochaco's heart jumped with shock as she realized that, like her own parents, his were absent as well. It was just going to be the two of them for the morning, or for however long it took for her mom and dad to catch up. Suddenly, she was very conscious of the bathing suit she had picked. Flustered, Ochaco turned away from Bakugo and toward the juice bar, grabbed a glass and pretended to be considering her options while her mind raced. What was she going to do? She knew she couldn't just walk away, leave Bakugo all alone and go back upstairs and tell her parents that they didn't show - even though she _really_ wanted to. But she also couldn't just stand there staring at juice labels she couldn't read all morning, either. With a small moan, Ochaco stuck her glass under the spout that said GΓΔϑΞFRΨΠT and filled her glass. Taking a deep breath, Ochaco turned and walked toward Bakugo, officially starting her vacation in Hawaii.

"Hey."

He looked up at her, and Ochaco tried her best to smile brightly, but not _too_ brightly. She knew he didn't like that. This was going to be tough. How did Kirishima keep this up all the time?

"Where the hell are your folks?" He asked briskly, looking over her shoulders.

Sitting down at the table across from him, Ochaco shrugged. "They're sleeping off some really bad jet-lag. What about you?"

Bakugo stared at her for a few seconds, thoughts swimming in his eyes that she couldn't decipher. He was either shocked, angry, or relieved. But who wasn't to say it was all three. Looking back to the coffee in his mug, Bakugo quirked his lips.

"Altitude sickness, food poisoning, or chronic stupidity. Take your pick." He took a long draw from the mug and set the empty cup down on the table.

A lull overtook the short conversation. Ochaco bit her lip, trying to think of something to say.

"Cool, so I guess it'll just be us." Her cheerful tone sounded fake even to her. "Won't have to hang around with stupid adults all day, right?"

Bakugo huffed a laugh at that. "I wouldn't really consider this much better."

"Oh come on, don't be like that." It was getting harder and harder for Ochaco to keep her cool. "I'm sure there's lots of fun stuff we can do here. And hey!" She held up her small wallet for him to see. "I get discounts on everything and free drinks. I'll share it with you. Won't that be nice, for once?"

"Yeah, we'll just see about that." Bakugo grumbled. He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Πώς είναι σου English, εμ ιπτ όνω?"

Ochaco didn't know what that meant, but it didn't sound very nice. Giving a small, awkward laugh, she raised her juice glass to her lips and took a sip.

With a jerk, Ochaco slammed her glass down and blew out the liquid in her mouth. Bakugo leapt to his feet with a shout as the spray hit him, then turned on Ochaco with fire in his eyes. The girl was too busy smacking her tongue around in her mouth to notice his rage, trying to get the bittery tartness that had assaulted her taste buds out. Wrinkling her nose, Ochaco coughed, completely caught off-guard by the sour juice.

"What the hell was that?!" Bakugo growled at her. A few other people were already watching them.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! But-" Ochaco pointed to the glass of juice, afraid to touch it. "I think their juice has gone bad."

With a grunt, Bakugo stepped forward and snatched up the glass. With a quick taste, he sneered down at Ochaco. "This is grapefruit juice, you idiot! It's supposed to taste like that!"

Looking to the glass in his hand, Ochaco couldn't help but wonder why anybody would drink something that tasted so terrible. Americans are weird.

Ochaco blinked up at him as he drained the glass of juice, slapped the glass down on the table, then snatched up his knapsack and turned to walk away. Mumbling as he brushed off the droplets of juice on the bag, Bakugo headed out of the breakfast area. Shooting to her feet, Ochaco quickly followed after him. This was looking to be a great start.

"Wait, Bakugo, we haven't had breakfast yet." She lightly laid her hand on his arm, feeling his warm bare skin. He glared at her over his shoulder, face still slightly damp.

"You should have thought of that before you spit on me!"

"But didn't you pay to get in here?"

"Yeah, but I didn't pay to have a backwash shower, so get your hand off of me!"

Recoiling her hand, Ochaco's smiley facade finally fell and she spoke her mind before she could stop herself.

"You don't have to treat me like Deku, Bakugo," she bit. "And this isn't exactly how I pictured this holiday going either."

Bakugo's snarl softened into a frown, eyebrows scrunching together in puzzlement. Huffing, Ochaco steeled her features to match his. She knew that the only way he would listen to her was if she proved herself. Just like she had for the sports festival.

"Look, I can't keep micromanaging my every action to try to keep you from getting mad. But," she took a deep breath. "I'm willing to try to make this work and have fun with you, Bakugo. But only if you're willing to do the same."

For a long while he simply stared at her, his red eyes dark with thought. Ochaco lifted an eyebrow at him, unsure if he was ever going to respond. Honestly, if he told her to get lost, then that would have been just fine with her. But a part of her really wished that he wouldn't. The same part of her that had wanted to beat him during their match.

With a heavy sigh, Bakugo adjusted the straps over his shoulders and looked away. "The breakfasts here aren't very good." His tone was still rough, but definitely gentler. "So grab a yogurt or something and let's go. We're burning daylight."

Having said that, Bakugo took off again, this time at a slower pace. His words took a moment for Ochaco to resgister. Spinning on her heel, Ochaco rushed back to the breakfast counter and grabbed a little plastic cup with strawberries on it. Hurrying to follow Bakugo, Ochaco couldn't help the wide smile on her face, unabashed glee sparking in her chest.

The two walked out into the sunlight together. Shielding her eyes from the bright light, Ochaco faltered for a second. When the ache behind her eyes had faded, she dropped her hand. Her jaw dropped as well.

The beach was beautiful. Spread out to either side were white sand shores dotted with towering palm trees. The palms swayed in the soft breeze that carried the faint smell of salt and water. A rock retaining wall separated the hotel from the sand, with pergolas and picnic tables set out on the grass above the beach. Plastic lounge chairs rested on the sand itself, and Ochaco could even spy a few hammocks tied up between the trunks of the palm trees. Rolling waves crashed into white sea foam, then withdrew back to the crystal clear blue that stretched to the horizon. Ochaco had only ever seen anything like it in videos and pictures, but none of that compared to the real thing.

"Are you just going to stand there gawking all day or what?"

Ochaco snapped her jaw shut and looked over to Bakugo. He had his aviators resting on his face, one eyebrow cocked up above the red lenses. Somehow, with his eyes covered up, he didn't look near as frightening. Bakugo spun away from her and trudged toward the sand. Placing her own sunglasses on her face - cheap ray bands she had gotten as a handout - she followed after the boy as he dropped down off the retaining wall and started making his way down the beach.

"Hey, Bakugo," Uraraka piped up, remembering something from earlier. "What did you say to me before? Right before I..."

Bakugo made a _tch_ sound, not even looking at Ochaco as he answered. "I said, 'how's your English, by the way' in English. Don't worry, I figured out the answer pretty quick. Now shut up and help me look for a spot."

That was something that Ochaco had overlooked; the beach was absolutely teeming with people. Families were forced to share spaces with others, and it seemed that every last chair and lounger had been claimed by a purse or a towel. There didn't seem to be that many people in the water, though. Wherever all these people were, it didn't seem fair that they would just leave their stuff lying around, taking up chairs that they weren't even using. As they walked farther down the beach, chances of finding their own spot didn't seem to be getting better.

But this was also a good opportunity for Ochaco to see all the other activities that _The Sea Cliffs_ had to offer. A pair of Jetski Wave Runners jumped over the water out in the distance, and there were also a couple of people rowing a rental kayak as well. But what caught Ochaco's attention was the large parasail gliding through the air high above the waves, being pulled by a boat at a leisurely speed. People were hanging under the colorful parachute, and Ochaco immediately knew that that was something that she wanted to do.

"Bakugo!" She cried with a slap to his arm. He leered at her, but she was too excited to care. "Can we do that? That looks like so much fun!"

Bakugo looked to where she was pointing. "Hell no. That's really expensive."

"Yeah, but I get a discount on everything, remember?" Ochaco waved her little wallet in the air. "So it won't cost as much."

"How much of a discount?" Bakugo sounded bored, like this was another waste of his time.

But Ochaco didn't have an answer. She hadn't been listening when Jason had told her family the specifics of the cards and their stay. "I don't know..." she admitted dejectedly. She couldn't see them, but Ochaco imagined that Bakugo was rolling his eyes at her under his aviators.

"Maybe you should ask your folks instead of me, Pink Cheeks." He turned away from her and continued over the sand. "Let's go."

Disappointed and embarrassed, Ochaco dipped her chin and followed after him. If it really was as expensive as Bakugo said, then her parents probably couldn't afford it either. As they walked farther down the beach, Ochaco was beginning to think that they weren't going to be able to find chairs for themselves. She had no idea that it would be this crowded.

"Here."

Bakugo had stopped in front of a set of chairs that were parked beneath a batch of palm trees. They were on the far end of the beach reserved for guests, where the chairs were few and isolated. But they all had some other person's stuff on them. Confused, Ochaco watched as Bakugo walked up to the chairs. Her confusion quickly turned to shock as he took the bags, towels, and other items off of two of the chairs and threw them onto another one. Ochaco gaped at the boy.

"You can't do that!"

Bakugo didn't stop in his proceedings as he cocked an eyebrow at Ochaco. "Says who?"

"Says _basic human decency_!" Ochaco glanced around, afraid they would be caught and get into some sort of trouble. "This is like trespassing!"

"It's not trespassing. We're on a public beach. Calm your tits, Pink Cheeks."

"But what if they come back?"

"Then it's their loss for not being here like they should have. Not my problem." There was no swaying him, it seemed.

Ochaco helplessly watched as Bakugo finished clearing the two chairs, then removed the knapsack from his shoulders. Loosening the strings, Bakugo held out the bag towards Ochaco. Unsure what to make of the gesture, she simply stared at him. The boy sighed heavily, and probably rolled his eyes again.

"You're gonna loose that puny wallet of yours in no time, or it's gonna get stolen. Do you want to put it in here or not?"

"Oh, okay!" Ochaco dropped her wallet into Bakugo's bag, touched that he was considerate enough to keep her possessions safe. "Thanks, Bakugo. I think some of Deku's niceness is starting to rub off on you."

She had meant it purely as a joke, something to try to get him to relax. But the very mention of his rival had the complete opposite effect. His grip on the draw strings tightened and his lips pulled back into a snarl. She could only imagine what his eyes were doing. But Bakugo only huffed, turned away from Ochaco, threw his bag down on the chair, and removed his shirt.

Oh. _Oh my._

Honestly, Bakugo's hero costume didn't leave much to the imagination to begin with. Everybody knew he had arms as thick as tree trunks and a lean torso. But Ochaco had no idea just exactly how _chiseled_ the boy was. There wasn't a single ounce of fat on his body, and his muscles bunched and relaxed under his skin. Ochaco was suddenly glad that she was also wearing her sunglasses, so that Bakugo would not see her ogling him so. Too late, she realized that he had asked her a question.

"What?"

Bakugo's eyebrow twitched and he gritted his teeth, beginning to lose his patience. "I asked if you were gonna take your clothes off or not. Not like I give a shit."

Ochaco jerked, her face heating up. Remembering her decision earlier that morning, she was uncomfortably aware of the swim suit she was wearing under her shirt, and exactly how much skin she would be revealing if she removed it. There was also the things about her physique that she wasn't too proud of - how her belly and hips spilled out a little over the bathing suit, how the insides of her thighs would rub together, stuff like that. Sure there were some people on the beach that were wearing far more scandalous outfits than hers, but none of them were in the same company as hers. It wasn't that she was wearing a bikini or anything, but it was definitely questionable whether or not it was appropriate for this situation. She was a budding young woman, after all, and Ochaco didn't think she was ready for Bakugo to know that about her.

"I... uh... well..."

"Do whatever you want." Bakugo sat down on his chair and leaned back, kicking his feet up and stretching out in the sun. "I'm gonna try to relax for a bit."

Hesitating, Ochaco reluctantly lifted the shirt up over her head and removed her shorts. The boy didn't react, just simply laid there. Putting her clothes in Bakugo's bag, she sat down on the other chair and assumed a position similar to his. A sense of guilt followed her as she laid back, knowing full well that she was in someone else's chair. But no one showed up to challenge them, and the island was starting to work its magic on Ochaco's mind.

After a while, her worries seemed to fade away as the sun warmed her skin and her ears were filled with the sound of waves, sea birds, and rustling palm trees. With due time, she had forgotten what she had been so worried about in the first place. This was nice, Uraraka mused. She sighed in contentment.

They were off to a rocky start. But Bakugo hadn't ditched her just yet, so there was still hope. A very small hope, that things would go well for the rest of the day.

* * *

A/N: I really didn't want to stop it right here, but if I hadn't then this would have been a really long chapter. So I decided to split the day into two parts. This probably isn't the last time that it'll happen. And yes, that is the Greek alphabet that I'm using to portray something that Ochaco doesn't understand, but it's not actual Greek words, so I'm sorry to any of my Greek readers if you thought I was butchering your language hah.

As always, read, review, and enjoy!


	3. Day 2: Part 2 - The Deal

_Day 2: Part 2 - The Deal_

* * *

Things were not going well.

"You seriously think it's okay to just show up and take our spot?"

"I sure as hell didn't see your stupid names on them anywhere, dumbass!"

"Bakugo, let's just go," Uraraka said meekly with a light tug on his arm. "We can sit somewhere else."

Katsuki ignored her and pulled his arm away, glaring up at the other man that had impeded so gracelessly on his sunbathing. At first, they had politely asked Uraraka if they could move. But they only spoke English, and she had just stared back up at them with vague understanding. That was when Katsuki intervened with a "not in your life" and the situation had quickly escalated from there.

"You and your loser family weren't even using them anyway!"

"Well we're here now and we'd like to use them." It was clear the guy was trying his best not to lose his temper on the teenager in front of his wife and kids. "So, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"On what authority?" Katsuki's anger spiked. Uraraka touched his arm again. "You expect me to just pack up and scram because it's suddenly convenient for-"

There was a sudden shift in Katsuki's stomach, like the feeling of going over a roller coaster, and then he was weightless. His toes lifted out of the sand and his body began to pitch forward slowly. Too shocked to speak, Katsuki windmilled his arms to keep from turning upside down, but his struggle went in vain. A hand grabbed his ankle and righted him once more before his temper and his dignity could go flying out the window. Looking down, Uraraka was holding on to him like a balloon she had gotten at the zoo, his knapsack slung over her shoulder. The man and his family were watching with expressions that probably matched Katsuki's own, but with much less scowling. His glare to her would have been lethal, but she wasn't looking back up at him. Instead, her head was bent in a small bow as broken English poured from her mouth.

"So sorry!" She said hurriedly, and began backing away with Katsuki in tow. "We wir go now. Have a nice day!"

With that, she brushed past them and began heading back down the beach in the direction of the hotel. Katsuki dragged behind her, and he could swear he could hear that guy's kids laughing at him. Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, Katsuki tried his best to keep his palms from igniting and sending shooting off into the sky like a rocket. The blood rushing to his head almost made him pass out.

"Uraraka." He could see the chill run down her spine from the tone of his voice. "Put me down. Right. The _fuck_. Now."

Uraraka stopped in her tracks, moved her sunglasses to her head, and spun on her toes towards him, kicking up sand as she did. "I told you this was going to happen!" Letting go of him, the girl pointed her finger accusingly as he began to slowly spin through the air once more. "This whole thing could have been avoided if we had just found a vacant spot!"

"Are you really insinuating that this is my fault?" Katsuki growled, though it was hard to maintain his composure with his body pitching sideways. "I'm not the one who gave up so easily and ran away like a coward."

"I was being courteous! Not everything is a fight, Bakugo!" Uraraka shook her fists in frustration. "I swear, sometimes you can be just as stubborn as Deku."

"Don't you dare compare me with that loser." It was Katsuki's turn to shove his finger in her direction. "At least I'm willing to stand up for myself. I thought you were made of tougher stuff, but it seems I was wrong."

Uraraka gaped at him, as if his words had run her though like a lance. The look of hurt on her face caused Katsuki's gut to twist, but he was too angry to care. Uraraka huffed, put her finger tips together and muttered "release". Unprepared, Katsuki hit the sand hard on his side, his sunglasses popping off of his face from the impact. Before he could regain himself, his knapsack hit the sand next to him. Looking up, he saw Uraraka's back storming away down the beach. With a snort, Katsuki got to his feet, grabbed his bag and sunglasses from the sand, and trudged off in the opposite direction. On lookers didn't dare meet his eye as he stomped across the sand.

 _Finally_ , he told himself. The inevitable had happened. Katsuki knew it was only a matter of time before she got tired of him and left him alone. Took a lot longer than he expected, and he had tried to bore her to tears with hours of pointless sunbathing, but that plan came to a messy, screeching end. That and she also seemed to enjoy just laying in the sun. Now, though, they were free from each other, free from having to pretend to enjoy each others company. Now they could both enjoy their vacations.

But a small part of Katsuki did feel a little off. Perhaps it was guilt, or maybe regret. Either way, it left a sour taste in his mouth as he made his way towards the exit of the beach. Nobody could say that he hadn't given her a chance - _two_ chances, actually - or that he hadn't tried to make their little friendship work. But they were just too different; different personalities, different methods of conflict resolution, the list could go on. The main point was that there was no way it could have ever worked between the two of them. So yeah, it was better this way. Quelling the irritating twist in his gut, Katsuki left the beaches of _The Sea Cliffs_ and made his way towards the main road, his original plans from before now back on track.

The morning was over, and the sun was reaching its peak in the sky. Not wanting to risk the chance of sunburn any further, Katsuki removed his knapsack from his shoulders and absently grabbed his shirt from it. Pulling the garment out, Katsuki was to preoccupied with watching for traffic to realize that his shirt had changed color. It was only when he had begun to pull the shirt over his head that he realized that the powder blue tint and flowery smell of the fabric coupled with the fact that it was way too tight was _not_ correct. Yanking the shirt off the top of his head, Katsuki scrutinized the shirt.

"Ah, crap," he mumbled. It was Uraraka's shirt.

Digging through the bag, Katsuki grimly discovered that her shorts and wallet were still in his possession as well. "God dammit."

Standing by the side of the road with Uraraka's clothes and wallet in his hands, Katsuki was unsure of what he should do. In the heat of the moment, it seemed that Uraraka had been too upset to remember to grab her things from him before she stormed off. Katsuki must have _really_ pissed her off. But now that he had them, he was at a loss for what to do with them. Yes, obviously he should return her stuff, but his temper was still running a little high, and his pride wouldn't allow him to seek her out to return her affects. He couldn't dump her things by the road and just forget about them - that was low, even for him. Should he try to find her parents and try to give her stuff to them? No. It would look incredibly suspicious if he handed over their daughter's clothes and personal items without said daughter present. The last thing Katsuki needed was an angry father on his vacation. Or, even worse - an angry mother.

With a growl, Katsuki stuffed Uraraka's shirt and shorts back into his bag, but kept her wallet out. The wallet was small - incredibly small, how did women fit anything in these thing? - and a lavender purple color decorated with blue stars bearing silly cartoon faces. Flipping the wallet open, Katsuki was surprised to see that Uraraka carried little more than her school ID, her room key, the green access card, and some yen. Taking the key card out of its slot in the card holders, Katsuki inspected it. Unfortunately, the hotel card did not indicate which room she was in, so he couldn't go to her room and simply drop them off. He supposed he could ask the concierge which room they were in, but the same fear of looking suspicious quashed that idea, too. Americans could be incredibly paranoid, after all. But perhaps he was making this too complicated.

He really didn't want to go crawling back to her so soon after their fight, but maybe he could just give Uraraka her shit and go, grace and pleasantries be damned. Seeing as that was rounding down to be his only option, Katsuki gave an exasperated sigh and replaced the card in its slot. But stopped, when he noticed that something else had been hiding behind the key card in the same fold. Pulling out the small piece of paper, Katsuki flipped it over. It was a picture - a Polaroid, if he remembered correctly. Who the hell used Polaroids anymore? Katsuki moved his aviators to his head to get a better look at it. There were three people in the picture; Uraraka, that nerd Iida, and, of course, Deku. The very sight of that loser was enough to cause a sneer to rise to Katsuki's lips.

But the picture was... nice. Iida was the one holding the camera, his long arm stretched out to the edge of the frame. The poor excuse for his smiled was almost made up for by the shine in his eyes. Uraraka was in the middle, her arms looped around the boys' necks, making them stoop to her height, cheeks bright pink as always. Deku was wearing an awkward grin, and it was obvious that he was blushing. Individually, the three of them looked silly and dorky. But together, they looked... well, like good friends. Like they were having fun. Like they had laughed and had a good time when this picture was taken. Katsuki's eyes fixated on the girl in the middle. Uraraka had a nice smile, and her eyes were bright with glee.

Katsuki stared at the picture for longer than he would care to admit, an unfamiliar feeling swirling in his chest. A car sped by him on the road, the wind nearly flinging the picture from his fingers. New thoughts were popping up in his head like daisies, realizations that made him frown and groan at himself. Deku might not have been the strongest or the smartest in their class, but everyone befriended him regardless. Even that icyhot bastard was getting cozy with him. Katsuki couldn't really say that he had done the same, though he had certainly earned their respect - and that was fine with him. Really. He didn't need friends to slow him down. There was Kirishima, who had pretty much handcuffed himself to Katsuki against his will, but he had gotten used to the red-head - and even appreciated his company, though he would never admit it. But Kirishima was friends with everybody. So he didn't really count. But, despite his lone wolf attitude, Katsuki couldn't deny that a part of him had always sought out companionship. Someone that could keep up with him, challenge him, and accept him rather than tolerate him. For a while, that person was Deku. Presently, Kirishima was doing a good job at filling that role. However, even he got tired of Katsuki's mood-swings, too. But he was back home, hundreds of miles across the sea.

Over the years, Katsuki had gotten so good at pretending to prefer solitude that he had forgotten about the appeal of friendship. This photo was reminding him. It annoyed him, but he was anything but ignorant.

Katsuki was envious. He wanted the kind of friendship that Deku and Uraraka shared.

With a sigh, Katsuki replaced the picture, and put her wallet into the pocket of his swimtrunks. Fishing his actual shirt out of his bag, Katsuki pulled it over his head and turned back toward _The Sea Cliffs_. Stepping away from the road, he headed back toward the beach. Uraraka wasn't like Kirishima, and Katsuki had been stupid to think he could treat her in the same way. Kirishima took Katsuki's personality in stride, letting harsh comments and bouts of yelling roll off him with a laugh. Uraraka not only took all of Katsuki's crap, but she also threw it back in his face. Maybe that was why he had been so reluctant to spend time with her, and had unintentionally set her up to fail. Ah, no that wasn't true. He had every intention to ditch her at the first opportunity, and that wasn't fair. He hadn't exactly made it easy, either, but Uraraka's determination to be optimistic was astounding. Although her words from earlier rose up on his mind:

 _"This isn't exactly how I pictured this holiday going, either."_

Feeling like the biggest asshole in the world, the boy stepped away from the road and back toward the resort, flipping his sunglasses back onto his eyes. Maybe Katsuki could salvage this situation. There was a way that he could repair this whole vacation, and hopefully regain what little respect Uraraka had for him. Now that he had his thoughts in order, and had calmed down, he was better equipped to handle the situation. Katsuki knew what he had to do, and was determined to make it work. But he didn't like it. If everything worked out, however, then this might just turn out to be a pretty good vacation.

* * *

Ochaco sat at an empty table on the patio in front of one of the outdoor dining areas of _The Sea Cliffs,_ her hands resting on the table in front of her and the wood of the chair splintering uncomfortably into her thighs. Lips pinched together, Ochaco moaned miserably. Her shoulders were starting to feel dry and crunchy, telltale freckles of sunburn popping up on her skin. Unfortunately, she didn't have any sunscreen with her, and all the covered and shady tables were taken. Sighing, Ochaco hung her head, feeling incredibly stupid and embarrassed for herself.

It wasn't until Ochaco had reached her hotel room after parting ways with Bakugo that she had realized her predicament. The ensuing search for her parents had yielded no results after the knock on the door had gone unanswered. It was strange that her mom and dad were nowhere to be found, but the resort was rather large. Ochaco couldn't find Jason either, so it was possible they had gone with him somewhere outside the resort. Although, they had promised to catch up with her... but before her mind could travel down that dark road, Ochaco squared her shoulders. Her other option was to ask the receptionist if she could have another key to her room. But as soon as Ochaco had walked up to the girl behind the desk with a big smile and a cheery "Aloha!", she hadn't been prepared for the stream of English that followed. The awkward silence that followed the girl's question stretched on for a little too long as Ochaco realized that she didn't possess the vocabulary that she needed to get help. So, slinking away before her self-esteem could plummet any farther, Ochaco decided that the only thing left to do would be to try to find Bakugo and get her stuff back. But it turned that he was also MIA, and Ochaco was left alone in a Hawaii without clothes, money, or sunscreen.

Thumping her head against the table and making her cheap ray bands go scattering across the wood table top, Ochaco moaned again, lost and confused and beginning to panic. Tears welled beneath her eyelids, but she refused to let them fall. She was going to be a hero one day, and heroes _don't_ cry. Though, perhaps that wasn't entirely true; Deku sure seemed to do an awful lot of crying. But she wasn't Deku - she wasn't amazing and strong like him, or had the unbreakable confidence that he possessed. She was just Ochaco, the infinity girl, who now felt like a lonely sixteen-year old teenager who could do with a little saving right about now. Some saving, and also something cool to drink. Her throat was parched.

Something thumped against the wooden table. Ochaco looked up, seeing a glass of dark, bubbly soda resting in front of her. Ice cubes floated in the soda, and moisture collected on the glass.

"The next time you storm off like that, make sure you take your shit with you, kay Pink Cheeks?"

Ochaco looked up at the voice. Bakugo stood next to the table, his hand stretched out and holding her clothes - which were neatly folded - and her wallet. His other hand held his own drink, a clear-yellowish soda. When she looked up to his face, she couldn't help but notice how his expression change from being slightly annoyed to mildly shocked. Realizing that her eyes must have been starting to turn red from her tears, she looked away from him and quickly wiped her face with the heel of her palm. Taking a deep breath, Ochaco rose to her feet and turned to face Bakugo. There were a lot of things she wanted to say to him right now, but she also knew that none of it would make her feel any better. So, with a small "thank you", she took her clothes and wallet from Bakugo. Expecting him to turn around and leave, Ochaco was surprised when he stepped away and took a seat at the table, waiting patiently for her to get dressed and sipping his soda. Suddenly suspicious, Ochaco slipped her shorts on. Why was he still here? Her eyes drifted to the soda she had yet to touch. _Oh._

"How much do I owe you for the drinks?" She asked meekly.

"Nothing." Bakugo's voice didn't seem quite as harsh as usual. "I used your green card."

Ochaco stared at him, unsure whether she should be relieved that she wasn't in debt to Bakugo or annoyed that he had obviously gone through her things. Before she could decide, Bakugo rose from his seat, put his drink down, and pulled the shirt off of his back.

"That flimsy tank top ain't gonna do shit to prevent sunburn," He said handing it to her. "This will at least cover your shoulders."

"Shock" wasn't a strong enough word to describe what Ochaco felt as she gaped at Bakugo and the black shirt he was holding out to her. Too stunned to say or do anything, she stared at him for such a long time that his face flushed with red and he practically threw the shirt at her face.

"Just take it, okay?!"

Ochaco grabbed the shirt before it could fall to the ground. "Uh... okay... thanks?"

Not sure what else she could do, Ochaco slipped the shirt over her head. The shirt - black, of course - was far too big, falling past the length of her shorts, making it seem like she wasn't wearing pants at all. But the shirt was very soft from use, and finally having the sun off of her shoulders was so incredibly satisfying that it made Ochaco sigh contentedly. Rubbing the crunchy feeling from her skin through the fabric, Ochaco sat down at the table and pulled the soda Bakugo had gotten for her close. The first sip was like heaven, the sweet taste of the soda washing over her tongue and cooling her insides when she swallowed. Ochaco had never tasted anything so magical.

After draining half the glass, Ochaco sat back and gasped. Bakugo was watching her closely, sipping his own drink much more slowly. Regaining her composure, Ochaco reached over, grabbed her sunglasses, and replaced them back on top of her head.

"So what are you doing here?" She asked coolly. Then, bitterly, she continued with "I thought I was too cowardly for you to hang out with."

Bakugo sighed through his nose and nodded thoughtfully, though he did roll his eyes at her. "Alright, I guess I deserve that."

The argument that she had quickly constructed in her mind died instantly on her tongue. Ochaco waited, not sure what else she might say, or even if she should and risk ruining the bizarre phenomenon that was unfolding before her. Bakugo shifted in his seat, placing his palms on the table.

"Listen Pink Cheeks, I've been thinking," Bakugo started, leaning forward so that his red aviators gleamed in the sun. "I want to make a deal with you."

If he had straight up apologized like she was half-expecting him to, Ochaco would have gotten up and walked away. A sincere Bakugo would have been too much to handle. But he didn't, and a sense of normalcy returned to the world. Ochaco sat forward as well, her intrigue overriding her previous bitterness.

"What kind of deal?"

"Not so much a deal, more of an agreement." Bakugo quirked his lips in thought. " _If_ we're going to survive on this island with each other."

Ochaco's eyes widened. "Wait... you-you still want to hang out with me?"

Bakugo stared at her, and Ochaco immediately thought that she had blown her second chance already. She couldn't see his eyes, so she had no idea what he was thinking.

"Yeah," he finally said. "That alright with you, Pink Cheeks?"

Ochaco felt her mouth drop open in shock. "But we were just fighting with each other."

"Can you honestly tell me you've never been in a heated argument with your friends before?" An eyebrow cocked up above his sunglasses.

Ochaco was about to argue that she hadn't, but realized that that wasn't true. Once, back towards the beginning of the first semester, Ochaco and Iida had squabbled about some aspect of proper hero conduct. He had turned out to be right, of course, and she never forget that particular rule because of it. And on a separate occasion, she and Ashido had almost gotten in a cat fight over nail polish, of all things. But Ochaco was still close friends with both of them, and she was comforted in knowing that no amount of bickering would change that.

"No, I guess you're right." Ochaco tapped her finger against her cheek, then smiled at the boy. "Does that mean that you and I are friends, too?"

"Let's not get carried away." Bakugo swept the glasses off of his face and looked at Ochaco with his piercing red eyes. "Are you in, or not?"

Ochaco grinned widely, excitement sparking in her chest. "Yeah! Let's do it!"

Bakugo smiled back at her. It was the first time she had ever seen him smile without malice. He actually had a really nice smile. It was too bad he didn't do it more.

"Alright," He started. "I'll go first, since I've really only got one thing that I want to make clear - I'll agree to get you through this vacation in one piece, but only if you promise to stop comparing me to Deku." Bakugo paused. "Actually, let me just change that to no mentions of that loser whatsoever. I came here to get away from him, you know. You bringing him up every five minutes is really getting in the way of that."

Ochaco puffed a cheek, because surely she didn't talk about Midorya _that_ much. She had only mentioned him, what, three times the entire day? But she wasn't about to argue the point. If not bringing up her friend's name was the key to Bakugo's happiness and her sanity for the duration of the week, then that was a relatively small price to pay. But she also needed to come up with her own term to match his.

"Okay," Ochaco said with a nod, then lifted a finger toward the boy. "And I'll agree to let you have access to all my green card's benefits without question, but only if you promise that you won't get in anymore fights with anyone for the rest of the week. That includes _me_."

Bakugo's smile faltered, and for a moment Ochaco feared that the deal was off. She had tried to make her end of the deal similar to his - a rather large reward for a comparatively small price. But if being non-confrontational for a week was too hard for Bakugo, then maybe it wasn't in either of their best interests to see this deal through. Ochaco hoped that wouldn't be the case, however. As brisk as Bakugo could be, he had a fun side hidden somewhere deep down inside. Ochaco just knew it.

"Fine. Okay, you've got a deal." Bakugo only sounded a little pained as he reached his hand out to her. "No more fights."

Ochaco gladly took his hand, which was warm and strong, and gave it a firm shake. "And no more Deku. Starting right now, that is."

Bakugo didn't let go of her hand immediately, and Ochaco continued to hold his as well. She looked deep into his eyes, and he peered back at her. The crashing of the waves on the sand suddenly grew louder in her ears, and the sun shined a little brighter. The world seemed to fade away around the two of them, slowing down and prolonging the moment. For a second, Ochaco and Bakugo were the only ones on the island. The sensation faded quickly, and they released each others hands.

"So," Bakugo cleared his throat. "What do you wanna do?"

Ochaco hummed in thought. "I have no idea. I guess I could use something to eat?"

Bakugo huffed a single laugh. "No shit. We skipped breakfast, after all. But what about after that?"

"I'm up for anything," Ochaco said with a grin. "Just... no more sunbathing, okay?"

Bakugo quirked his lips and rolled his eyes, nodding in agreement. The expression was not a new one for Ochaco, but all of his hostility was gone this time. "Yeah, that's not really my style either. Don't worry, I've got something in mind." With that, Bakugo stood from his seat and flipped his aviators back onto his face. "Let's go, Uraraka. We're burning daylight."

Nodding, Ochaco quickly finished her drink and got to her feet, moving her sunglasses to her face as well. "Lead the way, Bakugo!"

* * *

The rest of the day was actually... rather nice.

Bakugo introduced Uraraka to snorkeling. They rented some gear for her, and hit the water - which was _just_ the right temperature. The sea floor around the resort still had a few small reefs and and patches of sea grass to boast, but there really wasn't much in the way of fish. That didn't really matter to Uraraka. The elation of experiencing something incredible for the first time was enough to make up for the events of that morning, and the day wasn't over yet. Over the course of the day, the profound difference in the relationship between the two teenagers compared to that morning was startling. Bakugo still snapped and growled at Uraraka from time to time, but all ill-intent was gone and Uraraka didn't have to try so very hard to keep him complacent. That was just how Bakugo was, Uraraka realized. His anger didn't necessarily mean dislike, like she had thought previously. If anything, it was a sign that he cared. For Bakugo, having Uraraka finally relax in his presence allowed him to take it easy, too. He didn't feel the need to keep up his isolating facade. It was scary to admit, but they were actually having fun together.

As they went about their activities, Bakugo and Uraraka were startled by just how quickly the day went by. It had seemed that they hadn't done much, but the comfortable tiredness that was beginning to set into their bones said otherwise. When they looked up, the sun was starting to get low.

"Sunset already?" Ochaco murmured.

"Guess it's time for dinner." Bakugo looked out on the horizon, his red aviators reflecting the sun. "Let's head back."

They had wandered pretty far down one end of the resort beach in search of tide pools that Bakugo swore were some of the neatest things in the world. But they were farther down than expected, and in that moment, Uraraka's stomach let out a beastly gurgle. With a sheepish grin, Uraraka laughed. Bakugo sighed and shook his head at her, but a smiled sat on his lips as well. Doing an about-face, the two teenagers headed back toward the hotel, leaving footprints in the sand.

When they reached the lobby of _The Sea Cliffs_ , Ochaco heard someone calling her name.

"Mom? Dad?" She spun around, meeting the embrace of her father as he rushed up to her. "Where have you guys been?!"

"We looked all over for you, sweetheart," Mr. Uraraka said. "But we couldn't find you. And then Jason wanted us to do an interview for the contest board. Took a lot longer than we thought, since Jason had translate some things for us. What have you-"

Ochaco's father stopped when he and her mother realized that Katsuki was still standing there, watching this little family reunion.

"Oh, so you did end up spending the day with the Bakugo's." Her mom smiled at Katsuki. "I hope Ochaco wasn't too much trouble."

Ochaco and Katsuki tried to hide their smiles. _If they only knew._

"Nah, not too much." Katsuki shrugged.

"That's great to hear," Mrs. Uraraka beamed at her daughter, then looked back up at Katsuki. "Say, would you and your parents like to join us for dinner? I feel guilty about breakfast."

Katsuki shook his head, however, removing his sunglasses from his face. "I would have to find my parents, first, and I don't really feel like doing that just yet."

Mr. and Mrs. Uraraka laughed, promising to do it another night. Katsuki nodded and began to turn away, but Ochaco stopped him before he could.

"Your shirt, Bakugo," she said as she lifted the garment over her head. Katsuki had completely forgotten that she was still wearing it. With a "thanks", Katsuki took the shirt - but Ochaco continued to hold onto it, making him look up to meet her gaze. "We're going to see those tide pools tomorrow, right?"

Katsuki paused, considering the girl before him. Then, finally, with a nod, he said "Sure thing. Meet me back here in the morning."

Ochaco smiled widely, releasing his shirt and giving him a wave as she and her parents turned to leave. Katsuki found himself waving back at her as he watched her leave to get ready for dinner, her mother worriedly commenting "Ochaco, your shoulders!" as she did. The Uraraka's disappeared inside the golden elevator, leaving Katsuki alone in the lobby, a mix of emotions in his gut. Within the elevator, Ochaco's mom continued to fret over her.

"Don't worry, we've got some aloe in the room." Her mother pressed a finger to Ochaco's red skin, then pulled it away and watched the white skin fade back to red. "Did you not put suncreen on, sweetheart?"

"I did this morning," Ochaco replied. "But then I didn't reapply it later."

"Well, I think it was awfully nice of that young man to loan you his shirt," Mr. Uraraka said playfully. "Did you two have fun today?"

Ochaco smiled up at her father. "Yeah, we did!"

She launched into the story of her day, excluding the bits about their fight that morning and the deal they had struck. Her parents watched her come to life as Ochaco detailed the things she had seen and done, and they knew that they had made the right decision by pretending to be jet-lagged that morning.

* * *

A/N: Alright! The fluff train is officially pulling out of the station! Now we should be getting into the good stuff, hah. But there will definitely be more obstacles for these two along the way, as well.

As always, read, review, and enjoy!


	4. Day 3: Part 1 - The Edge

_Day 3: Part 1 - The Edge_

* * *

As it turned out, they weren't the usual kind of tide pools - the kind that were submerged during high tide and revealed at low tide. Bakugo said they were called "forever tide pools", because the tide never got high enough to flood them. The plateau of lava rock that the tide pools resided on was higher than sea level. But the waves crashing against it sent spraying water over the top and out across the pools, keeping them clean and clear. The rich nutrients of the rock provided the right conditions for life to burst forth and thrive, and Ochaco had never seen anything like it. Erosion had turned the rough stone smooth and shiny, creating a sleek black surface that Ochaco's sandals could barely find purchase on. But that wasn't enough to stop her excitement. Bakugo could barely keep up with her, stumbling along behind as she took off across the expanse of hardened lava.

After their short breakfast that was starting to become ritual for them, the two teenagers had set off back down the beach. Traveling in the same direction as yesterday, Ochaco found that when they had turned back the day before, they hadn't even been halfway there. The rocky outcrop was a good ways down the beach, in the niche of unclaimed land between the beach owned by _The Sea Cliffs_ and the resort just east of them. Here, the sand was coarser - more broken seashells and dead seaweed everywhere they looked. Ochaco had no idea what to expect on the way to the tide pools, so when she first saw the dark streak of rock across the white sand, she thought it looked like a scar. Bakugo said that the lava was thousands of years old, that real estate had chipped away and excavated most of it to make room for the beach. This little "spit", as he called it, was all that was left of some monstrous volcanic eruption that predated man. If Ochaco didn't know any better, she would have thought Bakugo sounded wistful.

They climbed atop the plateau. Pools of water in varying shapes and sizes reflected the bright sun, making the surface of the lava rock shimmer like diamonds. It almost hurt to look at, but Ochaco's sunglasses were just dark enough to make it bearable. The two teenagers had barely gained their feet beneath them when Bakugo pointed out to Ochaco a seemingly normal looking rock sitting by the edge of the nearest tide pool.

"I don't get it." Ochaco cocked her head.

"Poke it," Bakugo instructed. "This is one of the few things you're allowed to touch."

What a strange thing to say, Ochaco thought. But she squatted down, held out a padded finger, and gently prodded the rock. It was squishy, the surface giving away beneath her fingertip. Too surprised to stop herself, Ochaco accidentally applied much more pressure than she intended to. A small stream of water squirted out of the rough surface, catching Ochaco square in the eye. With a yelp, Ochaco flinched back, falling flat on her butt. Above her, Bakugo burst into laughter, like he couldn't believe she had actually fallen for his prank. Wiping the salty water from her face, Ochaco frowned up at Bakugo. She found it difficult to be upset with the boy, though. He was laughing, and she had never hear him laugh before. Albeit, he was laughing at her expense, but still... he had a nice laugh.

Bakugo held his hand out to her. After helping her to her feet, he and pointed again.

"It's called an _anemone_. Look."

The "rock" was blooming - unfolding from within itself, overlapping its dull brown exterior with a brilliant pink. Tendrils fanned out around the edge like flower petals, and the center was a deeper mauve color. The tentacles waved fluidly, like the creature was greeting Ochaco and Bakugo as friends. Dropping to her knees, Ochaco leaned in closer to the amazing little anemone, ignoring how the coarse lava rock ground into her skin.

"Careful, Pink Cheeks," Bakugo warned. "It'll squirt you again."

Ochaco heard him, but wasn't listening. The wondrous, strange little flower was _moving_ \- ever so slowly, but clearly making its way into the clear, cool water of the tide pool. The pool itself was cluttered with more anemone that Ochaco had somehow missed before. They were all blooming, each a varying shade of blue, pink, and purple. The petals of the anemones twisted and curled under the water, animating the surface with gentle ripples. The distorted image blended all of the colors together in a way that no artist ever could.

"It's like a bouquet," Ochaco mumbled under her breath. Breaking her eyes away, she looked up at Bakugo. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Bakugo stared at her, probably wondering if she had lost her mind. He wasn't wearing his red aviators today, his expression clear for all to see. And yet, he still remained unreadable to Ochaco. Bakugo scoffed as he looked away.

"If you're into that kind of shit, I guess," he said.

Ochaco giggled as she shot to her feet once more, leaping at Bakugo. The boy jerked back, startled by her sudden proximity. She had gotten very close very quickly, but was too excited to care.

"Show me more!"

"Alright, alright! Calm your tits." Bakugo turned away from her, walking off across the plateau of tide pools. "Just remember that I have to meet my parents for lunch later on, so we can't spend all day here."

There weren't as many people out here at the edge of the resort, only a small crowd that had come to do exactly what Bakugo and Ochaco were doing. Families with small children wandered about, kids toddled across the stone, gazing into the pools with unbridled wonder and pointing excitedly. Some people were camped beside the larger pools, letting their feet dip in the water as the sun warmed their bodies. Ochaco had made the executive decision the night before to keep her own exposure to the sun at a minimum, since she had gotten more than enough the day before. But nobody dared go near the edge, where the plateau ended in a sharp drop and the waves crashed mercilessly against its face. The rocks were slippery there, and it was impossible to tell how deep it was.

The wonders of the tide pools was ceaseless - each one was completely unique, and there was always something new to discover. Starfish, crabs, anemones, tiny fish that ranged in color from crystal clear to neon and more. Ochaco could probably have sat and watched a single tide pool all day if Bakugo hadn't kept her moving. Her own excitement must have been contagious, because Ochaco had never seen Bakugo so animated about something that didn't involve fighting or training. He showed Ochaco his favorite pools - the ones with the most fish in them - and told her the names of every creature. His knowledge was impressive, and Ochaco could tell that he enjoyed showing off. It was adorable, in a snarky, demeaning sort of way. His lessons, though crass, were also entertaining. If Bakugo ever wanted to be something other than a hero, Ochaco mused, he would probably make a wonderful teacher.

"You used to be able to come here and collect mussels," Bakugo told her as they sat at the edge of a little pool. She had asked about the clusters of shells that were bunched so tightly together as they clung to the rocks, and Bakugo had launched into a story. "Come out here with your shucker and just pop them open. That was how we would eat lunch."

"You can eat them? _Raw?_ " Ochaco peered at the little bunches of clams, finding it difficult to imagine how they could possibly be tasty.

"You're supposed to eat them raw, dumbass." Bakugo mimed splitting a mussel apart. "It's not much, but if you get about fifteen of them, it can fill you up. But then people started taking too many. So now there's a ban on collecting mussels in this area so the population can rejuvenate."

"There seems to be plenty of them to me." They seemed to occupy every nook and cranny of the lava rock.

Bakugo only quirked his lips in a half sneer as he looked around. "Compared to what it was like all those years ago, I'd say the mussels actually aren't coming back as quickly as people thought they would. There used to be oysters here too, but those are completely gone. Oh yeah, speaking of which..."

Bending over, Bakugo reached his hand into the tide pool in front of them. He fished around for a little bit, and Ochaco could watch the hunt happen on his face - eyes cast to the side, eyebrows askew as he searched, and then his features evened out. Sitting back, Bakugo held out his hand to Ochaco. If Ochaco didn't know any better, she would have thought it was another rock. But now, because of Bakugo, she did know better. Picking up the object tenderly, Ochaco examined it closely. It looked like one of the mussel shells all around them, but bigger and with a slightly different shape.

"Open it," Bakugo grunted as he wiped his wet hand on his swim trunks.

Ochaco would never admit it, but it took her longer than it should have to realize she was holding an oyster shell. It wasn't that she hadn't seen them before, just not very often. In the Kansai region where she was from, oysters were mostly served up fried. There were a couple of occasion where her parents had treated the family to nicer meals and had raw oysters, but those occasions were few and far between. A blush rose to her cheeks as she slowly opened the oyster. If there was a pearl inside this, she might just faint.

But all Ochaco felt was confusion as she stared at the little green ball that was most definitely _not_ a pearl as it sat nestled within the oyster like it belonged there.

"It's a marble." Bakugo smirked, like he could guess what Ochaco had been thinking. "My dad and I put it there a long time ago as a practical joke to any loser who finds it."

Ochaco stared at him, then switched her gaze back to the marble, then back to Bakugo. She had had an idea that the Bakugo's had a history of coming to Hawaii, but she didn't realize how extensive that history was until now. What a childhood Bakugo must have had, to come to a place like this so often while growing up.

"Kind of surprised it's still here. Fucking thing hasn't been touched." Bakugo took the oyster shell from her hands, holding it more delicately than Ochaco would have though him capable. The boy seemed wistful as he stared at the green marble. If Ochaco had to guess, he was probably deep in a memory. Then he closed the oyster and put it back in the tide pool, hidden away from sight in a little grotto within the lava rock. "Damn marble is persistent, kind of like someone I know."

"Hey, you were the one who came to me, remember?" Ochaco said with a dry smile. Bakugo rolled his eyes at her.

"I didn't have a choice, do you remember that?" He countered. His tone was as harsh as it always was, but the virulence behind it was gone. "If you hadn't left your shit in my bag, neither of us would be in this situation."

They could have kept this going longer - more as a game instead of an argument - but Bakugo's knapsack suddenly started jingling, as if on queue. With a groan, Bakugo slipped the bag from his back and yanked it open. Pulling out his cell phone, Ochaco skewed her eyebrows.

"You get service here?" She asked.

"We have an international plan," was all Bakugo said before he answered the phone with a sharp "what". He listened for a little bit, and the small voice that Ochaco could here through the phone was unmistakably his mother. Bakugo winced, pulling the phone away from his ear. Sighing, Bakugo got to his feet.

"Stay here," he instructed. "Old hag wants to know where I am. Shouldn't take too long."

With that, Bakugo walked away from Ochaco, leaving her alone. This seemed to be a common occurrence between the two of them. This time, however, it wasn't nearly as dramatic. Ochaco took a deep breath and let herself relax next to the tide pool, feeling the sun warm her through the t-shirt she was wearing. It was much quieter out here, away from the resort and all of it's bustling occupants. As she closed her eyes, Ochaco allowed herself to be swept away by the sounds of the ocean and the breeze, a wonderful melody of white noise that could have lulled her to sleep on the spot. The sea here was not the same as it was back home, even though both of them were part of the Pacific. Here, the sea seemed wilder, and more mysterious - like an animal lurking at the edge of a forest. Opening her eyes, Ochaco looked out over the edge of the tide pools and across the water, mixed feelings of awe and caution settling on her shoulders.

Movement caught her gaze, a small distortion within her line of sight that shook her from her reverie and startled her back to herself. Peering out across the lava rock, Ochaco squinted against the bright reflections of the sun off the ocean to see what appeared to be a person clambering across the rock bed along the edge of the plateau - alone. She rose to her feet and took a couple of tentative steps forward. This person, though... they were so small.

It was a child, probably about two or three years old, if Ochaco had to guess - and they were toddling quickly and dangerously closer the edge with the steep drop and the pounding waves.

Ochaco's heart leapt painfully within her chest as fear chilled her like a winter wind. Her flip-flops caught on the rough surface of the lava rock as she began to run, stubbing her toes and making her stumble. But she didn't stop. Ochaco called out to the kid - a little boy - but the waves were too loud and the kid was distracted by collecting shells on the ground. Crashing waves became thunderous in her ears as she neared the edge, the rocks became smooth and slippery. Her pace was forced to slow down until Ochaco was testing every step for purchase. Hands held out to her side, her anxiety spiked each time she was forced to avert her gaze from the small child to watch where she was going. The boy did not divert from his path, his little legs plodding over the rocks with surprising ease. Several more seconds, and... Ochaco couldn't bear the thought. But she wasn't going to make it in time like this.

Growling, Ochaco stopped and picked up her feet. Her sandals were flying behind her before she could reconsider the idea of continuing on barefoot. Being able to grip her toes to the rock did seem to help, but the sharp edges were cutting into the sensitive pads of her feet. She was so close, perhaps only a couple meters away from the child and the sharp drop. Just a couple more long strides and-

"Hey!" The child finally turned to her, his big green eyes wide as he gazed up at her. His arms were full of an impressive menagerie of sea shells. "It's dangerous here. Come on, let's go where it's safe."

The child blinked up at her, eyes confused. _He probably only understands English_ , Ochaco realized. Now, more than ever, Ochaco wished she had paid closer attention during Present Mic's lessons. She struggled for the words, which were hard to come through the rising panic in her heart as the child began to whimble and back away from her.

"It's okay, it's okay!" Ochaco cried softly, hoping her tone alone would comfort the boy. Heavy ocean mist was beginning to drench her clothes. Where was this boy's mother? "I'm not going to hurt you."

The sun became darker. A sonorous roar filled her ears. Whipping her head around, Ochaco paled at the wall of water that arched over her head. Everything happened too fast after that - a scream, her body moving on its own, and salt water surrounding her. The water went into her ears and up her nose and stung her eyes, and for a brief, terrifying moment, she couldn't breath.

Coughing the water from her lungs, Ochaco blinked her stinging eyes. The jagged edge of the lava rock plateau poked into her belly and knees as she sprawled across the surface, one hand desperately gripping for purchase. The other hand, and the top half of her torso, hung off the edge of the plateau. The child - wet, afraid, and screaming - dangled from the death grip Ochaco had on his arm. Huffing, and with adrenaline pumping through her veins, she wasted no time in hoisting the boy back up to the plateau. But stopped when the effort had the opposite effect, and the threat of them both going over became very real. Her quirk could have really helped, she knew that. But Ochaco didn't dare lift her other hand from the ground and lose the only anchor that she had. She was stuck, and her grip on the boy's wet arm was beginning to slip.

"Help!" The salt in her eyes and her tears made a terrible combination. "Somebody help us!"

The boys arm was slipping through her fingers. He cried out, a word that Ochaco knew meant "mother". There was nothing she could do. The waves roiled below them like a hungry mouth, swelling up into another wave that would be their last.

Another hand shot past Ochaco's face and wrapped itself around her hand and the boy's arm, squeezing tight. She felt an arm wrap itself around her chest. With a mighty pull, Ochaco and the boy were both yanked from the cliff and the hungry sea just as the ocean slammed against the cliff of the plateau once more. The boy ended up in Ochaco's arms, where he quickly wrapped his little embrace around her neck in a near choke hold. She didn't mind, though. She was too busy scrambling to get away from the slippery edge and back to dry safety. When they were as far away as her shaky legs and bleeding feet could carry her, Ochaco dropped to her knees once more. Her breaths rasped as she huffed, heart pounding in her ears. The little boy was still crying, his face pressed to her neck. Though he did have some small scrapes on his knees and elbows, he was unharmed. With wide, unbelieving eyes, Ochaco turned her head to look at their savior as he stoof stooped over with his hands on his knees.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Bakugo coughed out at her as water dripped from his hair. "You could have been killed!"

Ochaco didn't have an answer for him. Even though her hands were shaking, she tried her best to comfort the child, stroking the wet blonde hairs of his head and cooing words of reassurance to him that he probably didn't understand. In truth, she felt like crying, too. But she couldn't, not in front of him or Bakugo.

"Alex!"

Ochaco and Bakugo both looked up to the woman that was running towards them, a man and two older children close behind. She dropped down next to Ochaco, and the little boy threw his arms around her. The woman, pale with fear and shock, cradled the little boy close to her and gently rocked him back and forth. The child's weeping grew softer.

"Τhaι hσυνέβη?" The man spoke sharply as he glared at Bakugo and Ochaco. He seemed angry, but Ochaco could tell it was only because he had been afraid, too.

"He's asking what happened," Bakugo spoke to Ochaco. She looked at him - to his face pinched with surpressed anger and eyes full of concern. He wanted an answer, too, she realized. Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she explained what had transpired. Her details were clipped and her story was short, but it was enough for Bakugo's face to shift from mild anger to utter disbelief. Bakugo translated her story to the father, both he and the boy's mother listening intently. The same shift happened in both of them as well, and soon they were all staring at Ochaco like she was a creature they had never seen before.

"Θεέ μου..." The mother stood, lifting the boy in her arms as she moved closer to Ochaco. "Σou ηυvμd Alex's ϐϕfε."

Ochaco had no idea what she was saying. But she didn't need to when the women dropped down beside her once more and threw her other arm around Ochaco and pulled her in close. She was shaking, Ochaco noticed.

"Εhυnχ yρώ!" She whispered into Ochaco's ear. The woman sat back. There were tears in her eyes, but a smile on her face. "Εhυnχ yρώ sσ mμϐϕ!"

"She's saying thank you," Bakugo offered. "For saving her kid's life.

Ochaco, managed to force her own smile onto her face, fighting back the tears threatening to spill over. "I'm just glad that he's okay!"

The woman nodded when Bakugo translated her words to her. Cupping Ochaco's face in her hand, she stroked the girl's cheek with her thumb as a sign of gratitude before standing once more and departing with her family, who all followed and gathered around her to see if little Alex was okay.

"This is what happens when you don't watch your damn kids," Bakugo muttered. "Am I right, Pink Cheeks?"

She didn't answer. When Bakugo turned to look at her, he was startled to find tears running down her face. "Hey, are you okay?"

Ochaco hiccuped and furiously wiped at her eyes with her palm. "Yeah," she squeaked out, her voice strained. "Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"

Bakugo said nothing. Ochaco, too ashamed of her tears, buried her face in her hands. _Why was she crying?_ Heroes don't cry! She should be proud of herself, of her first official rescue. So why was she crying? Ochaco jumped when a strong arm wrapped around her wet shoulders, drawing her in to Bakugo's chest. His embrace was a little tight, but very stable, and that stability was more comforting than Ochaco expected it to be.

"You're okay, Uraraka." His voice rumbled through his chest. "You're okay."

Her throat and chest were hurting from the sobs that she was struggling to keep down.

"Deep breaths," Bakugo coached. Ochaco struggled to draw in air, but the tightness in her chest loosened when she did. "Coming down from an adrenaline rush is never easy. Believe me, I know."

For a few more moments, Ochaco and Bakugo sat there as he patiently allowed her to regain herself. When she was breathing steady once more, Bakugo pulled away from her. His face was expressionless, but his eyes harbored something akin to the same tumultuous feelings Ochaco had.

"I turned around and you were gone." Bakugo spoke quietly, like he was mostly speaking to himself. "I had no idea where the hell you went. I thought that you... that something..."

Ochaco, surprised by this confession, cocked her head and smiled at her classmate. "I'm sorry, Bakugo. I didn't mean to scare you."

Bakugo jerked and abruptly stood. Before he spun away, Ochaco could have sworn she saw his cheeks turn red. "I wasn't scared! I just didn't want to have to explain to your parents that you got kidnapped in Hawaii on my watch. So don't do anything reckless like that ever again, you got that?"

Laughter bubbled up from Ochaco's stomach, small giggles that helped ease the tension in her throat. Bakugo turned to look at her, his face not as stern as his words. With a sigh, Bakugo reach a hand out to her.

"Come on, Pink Cheeks," he said. "I think we've spent enough time at these damn tide pools."

Ochaco felt the smile fall from her face. Looking down, she grimaced at the state of her feet. Dozens of little cuts marred the soles of her feet and toes. The sea water had cleansed them, and they weren't bleeding anymore, but they were still painful.

"My feet hurt," was all she said.

"Well that's too bad," Bakugo quirked his lips. "Because I think the ocean stole your sandals."

It was true - her flip-flops were missing from where she had discarded them, probably washed away by the same waves that had threatened to take her, as well. Ochaco frowned; those had been her only pair for the whole trip...

"Why am I the one who keeps losing things?" Ochaco chuckled halfheartedly at her misfortune and gazing out over the sea. Bakugo did not respond. Looking back at him, Ochaco jumped. Bakugo was squatting down next to her, facing away and holding his hands out behind him. He had moved his knapsack to his front, dangling from his chest.

"Climb on."

Ochaco blinked once, then twice, then once more. Nope, she wasn't seeing things.

"Not gonna ask again, Uraraka!" Bakugo roared.

It was an awkward process, climbing onto Bakugo's back. But as soon as she was positioned, he hoisted her up quickly and easily, making her yelp. He wasted no time in departing the plateau of lava rock, dropping down to the sand with far more grace than Ochaco would ever give him credit for. Soon the two of them were trekking across the sand, back to _The Sea Cliffs._ Exhaustion settles over Ochaco like a warm blanket. Sighing, she rested her chin on his shoulder, eyelids drooping against her will.

"Thank you, Bakugo," she mumbled softly into his ear. He turned his head slightly to peer at her out of the corner of his eye.

"For what?"

"For coming to my rescue." She smiled softly and turned toward him, her lips mere atoms from his neck. "You really are a hero."

The steady rhythm of Bakugo's steps were beginning to rock Ochaco to sleep. The sun was reaching it's peak in the sky, its warmth starting to dry her wet clothes. Humming contentedly, Ochaco laid her chin into the crook of Bakugo's neck and shoulder. She almost didn't catch Bakugo's words before she drifted off. He spoke so softly and lowly, his words drifted to her like a half-remembered song.

"I think you and I both know who the true hero is."

* * *

A/N: UPDATED! I'm so sorry about the long gap, but this chapter gave me a lot of trouble. No seriously, I think I re-wrote this thing like four times. Originally, it was going to be a turtle. But I think this is much better.

As always, read, review, and enjoy!


	5. Day 3: Part 2 - Sunglasses

_Day 3: Part 2 - Sunglasses_

* * *

By the time Katsuki made it back to _The Sea Cliffs_ , Uraraka was snoring softly into his ear. In any other situation, he would have dropped her into the shallow waves and continued walking - he wasn't a damn palanquin, for fuck's sake. But even Katsuki knew when to swallow his pride, and also that doing something like that would be in very poor taste. As he trudged over the sand, knapsack thumping against his stomach, Katsuki shifted his shoulders under his sleeping classmate so that she wouldn't fall off of his back. Besides, he thought, Uraraka had probably had enough of the sea for today.

Katsuki turned his head to look at the girl out of the corner of his eye. It was a well known fact that he was a difficult person to scare, and he took great pride in that. So when he had hung up his phone after talking with his mother and turned around, the jolt of fear that turned his spine to ice was no small thing. Uraraka was just... _gone_. Her powder blue tank top was nowhere to be seen among the throngs of people, nor could Katuski hear her voice over the chatter of the crowd and the crashing of the sea. A multitude of scenarios popped up in Katsuki mind, a list of possibilities where each thought was more wild and drastic than the last. Something was wrong, he could tell by the painful knot in his gut. Uraraka could be in danger, and that was what scared him the most.

Then he heard her cry for help, and his body moved before he could think.

Huffing a sigh, the boy stopped for a second so he could adjust his hold on Uraraka. After he had heard her story, Katsuki couldn't help but wonder what he would have done in that situation. Actually, he knew _exactly_ what he would have done: snatch the child from danger and drag the little snot - probably kicking and screaming - back to his mother. Sure, his tactic probably would have garnered a vastly different reaction than what Uraraka had received, but he would have gotten the job done and nobody would have gotten hurt. It was unlikely that the boy's parents would have been grateful, but Katuski didn't need their approval. That, it seemed, was the essential difference between him and Uraraka. Where Katsuki was content to simply rescue, she would go the extra mile and actually _save_ people. He knew fully well now that the two were not the same, All Might had seen to that. Uraraka had already known that intuitively - and Katsuki wasn't sure if he should admire her for that, or hate her.

And yet, she had been the one to call him a hero. It made him feel... good, in a way. He tried not to think about it too much.

He carried her up the stone steps of the hotel and off of the sandy beach. The green, pampered grass of the lawn was cool beneath his sandy feet. Other hotel guests had laid out towels on the grass, families and groups of friends sun-bathing, having picnics, and playing games. If any of them thought the sight of a young boy carrying a sleeping girl on his back was strange, they made no show of it. Not like Katsuki would have cared. He had gone as far as he could, though, and by now he was already ten minutes late for lunch with his parents. It was time to wake up Uraraka.

"Hey." Katuski jerked his shoulder under Uraraka's chin, causing her head to loll. "Quit drooling on me."

Her eyes cracked open slowly, a small moan escaping her as she looked around blearily. The heat of the sun and the salt from the ocean made Uraraka's hair coil a little tighter around her head, framing her face in wavy brown curls. Katsuki could see her consciousness slowly returning in her features. When she looked at him, though, it was like she was looking straight through him. Uraraka stared at him with half open eyes for a few seconds, face blank of all thought. Then her eyes snapped wide and she leapt from Katsuki's back like a cat dropped in a bath.

"Bakugo!" Uraraka screeched in his ear. As soon as her tender feet hit the stone tile beneath them, she winced and lost her balance. "Ow!"

Her hand shot out to Katsuki's shoulder, seeking stability. But she missed, and grabbed the knapsack still hanging on Katsuki's chest instead and yanked on it _hard_. The ropes of the drawstrings burned against the sides of his neck as she pulled on the bag.

"Agh!" Katsuki reflexively dropped his shoulders, letting the knapsack slip off and drop gracelessly to the ground. When he reached up a hand to his neck, the touch of his fingers stung against agitated skin. "What the hell, Pink Cheeks?!"

"I'm so sorry," Uraraka frowned. She was lightly dancing from one foot to the other, her toes flexing and curling. "You just surprised me."

Katsuki felt a harsh retort rising in his throat, but swallowed it as he watched Uraraka bite her lip, hissing through her teeth as she tried her keep her feet off the hot stones of the walkway. Her feet had stopped bleeding, but he knew full well how sensitive the soles were. It was a shame her flip flops had been swept away by the ocean.

"Whatever," Katsuki scoffed as he kicked off his sandals. They would be too big for her, and went over to top of the foot rather than between the toes, but they would have to do. "Just don't do that again. Now put those on and let's go. You look ridiculous prancing around like that."

Turning away from her, Katsuki stooped over, picked up his pack, and padded away from Uraraka. By the sound of it, she only hesitated for a moment before conceding to wearing his shoes and following after him. His over-sized sandals slapped noisily on the ground with each step that Uraraka took with her puny feet, but he could tell that they brought her some much needed relief. The baked stone of the walkway was hot even for him, but it was nothing that Katsuki couldn't manage if he kept walking.

"Thank you," Uraraka said behind him. The rhythmic _flap flop_ of her footsteps was obnoxiously loud. "But I think if this trend keeps up, I'm gonna end up wearing all of your clothes by the end of this trip."

The undignified snort that erupted from Katsuki's nose surprised him more than it did Uraraka, but he managed to pass it off as a sneeze before she could realize what was happening. Honestly, the image of Uraraka dressed in some of his outfits was equal parts hilariously entertaining and awkwardly embarrassing. There was no way his hero costume would work on her. The colors would clash too much. She could probably pull off most of his casual get ups, though.

"You're not keeping my shoes," Katsuki grunted as he lead the way through the lobby of _The Sea Cliffs_ , leaving the beach behind and heading toward the garden alcove where he knew his parents would be waiting for him. "And you can forget about getting anywhere near my sunglasses."

Uraraka chuckled, but the smile faded a little from her face after a moment. "Hey, speaking of which, have you seen mine?"

"Your what?"

"My sunglasses." Uraraka ran a hand through her hair, making sure they weren't resting on top of her head. "Did I put them in your bag?"

Huffing a sigh, Katsuki removed his knapsack once again and pulled it open. He didn't carry much in his bag; just his shirt, wallet, phone, sunscreen, and Uraraka's wallet. Her cheap ray bands weren't in there. He looked up at her and shook his head. Pursing her lips, Uraraka stared through Katsuki for a few heartbeats as she drifted off into thought. Katsuki could see the exact moment when realization hit her on her face, the way her features relaxed and how her eyes snapped back into focus.

"You know, I bet they got knocked off when I got hit by that wave," she said, biting her lip in embarrassment.

"Yeah, probably." It made sense. Uraraka had her sunglasses when they arrived at the tide pools, but not when they left. After the little fiasco, the both of them had been too flustered to notice until now. The ocean had probably snatched those away, as well. Uraraka had lost her shoes and her sunglasses in a span of seconds, but at least she hadn't lost something much more important. Katsuki did feel bad for her - but not bad enough to even consider lending her his aviators. The ray bands had been cheesy knock-offs anyway. "Guess you'll just have to manage."

Uraraka huffed a sigh and followed after Katsuki as he crossed through the lobby.

Not two minutes later did the two teenagers arrive at the entrance to the garden. On the island side of the resort _The Sea Cliffs_ had terraformed the landscape into a two tiered green way. The top level of the garden hosted a sit down cafe that Katsuki's parents loved, while the lower level was laid out as an open yard where the luau's took place. Katsuki paused here, not entirely sure what to do next. Uraraka had spent all morning with him, and they hadn't made any plans to do anything else. Most likely scenario, this was where they would part ways for the day... maybe even for the rest of the week. Nothing in their deal said that they _had_ to spend time together. Katsuki was displeased with the notion, though, and he couldn't explain why. Perhaps he was disappointed that he wouldn't get to reap the benefits of Uraraka's green card as much as he had hoped.

"So..." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his swim trunks, casting his eyes to the floor. "I guess you'll be going to find your folks, or something?"

Uraraka twiddled her thumbs in front of her, her gaze likewise fixed away from his face. "Yeah. I'll go check the hotel room first, if they aren't there then I'll see if I can find Jason, he might know where they are."

"Right." Biting his lip, Katsuki tapped his bare foot on the cool tile. He had no idea what he was supposed to say. Should he invite her to lunch? Katsuki immediately dismissed the idea, because he just knew that his parents would start getting funny ideas if he did. Besides, it would be selfish of him to keep her from spending time with her own family. Slinging his knapsack off of his back once more, Katsuki fished Uraraka's wallet from inside and presented it to her. "Good luck with that."

"Thanks." Uraraka nodded, smiling brightly at him as she accepted her affects. Rubbing her thumbs over the starry pattern, the teenage girl chewed on her cheek. "Oh, you'll probably be wanting your shoes back, too."

Before she could kick his sandals off, Katsuki shook his head. "We both know that you need them more than me. Just hang on to them."

Uraraka stared at him for a second, and he could tell that she was surprised. Then her smile returned, but with a touch of coyness. "I thought you said I couldn't keep them."

"You aren't." Katsuki corrected with his own grin. "Cause you're gonna give 'em back to me tomorrow, right Pink Cheeks?"

It might have just been his imagination, but Uraraka's eye practically lit up at his words. She gave him an affirmative nod, and for a second Katsuki thought that she might try to hug him. But she didn't, and they couldn't stall any longer. So, with a small "see you later", Uraraka turned and walked away from Katsuki, heading back to the lobby to begin the search for her mom and dad. Katsuki watched her go, and it seemed that she was taking something more than his shoes with her. Sighing, the young man turned to the garden and scanned the tables for his parents. He spotted them sitting at their usual table, beneath a Plumeria tree. Katsuki was three steps into the garden before he realized with a jerk that they weren't alone.

"Pink Cheeks!"

The telltale smack of his sandals drawing closer harrowed her return, the hurried _flap flop flap flop_ of Uraraka's footsteps growing louder as she rejoined him at his side.

"What is it?" She asked, sounding a little out of breath.

Rubbing one hand down his face in exasperation, Katuski lifted the other and pointed across the garden. "I found your parents."

The Uraraka's and the Bakugo's sat together with drinks in front of them, and they seemed to be having a grand ol' time, too. Katsuki and Uraraka watched as their parents all burst into laughter at something her father had said. Uraraka's mother was the one who spotted them. After pointing them out to the rest of the occupants at the table, all four of them waved and beckoned the two teenagers over. Katsuki and Uraraka shared one look with each other before stepping into the garden together to join their parents.

* * *

The contrast in temperature between the beach and the garden was astounding, but not surprising. Here, there were Hibiscus and Plumeria trees to provide shade and protection from the sun. A stone fountain depicting two dolphins twining around each other bubbled in the center of the courtyard, creating a peaceful ambiance and a sense of escape. The wicker chairs were padded, the tables had clean cloths, and the American-style food smelled excellent. It was almost like taking a vacation _from_ vacation.

The only thing that seemed to top off everything was the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Uraraka's blue cards basically allowed them to get unlimited booze for free, which they gladly shared with their new friends, the Bakugo's. Katsuki could already tell that his mom was looking a little red, and Ochaco had a feeling her dad, a devoted beer-drinker, was enjoying his Mai Tai more than he should have been.

When the two teenagers sat down at the table with their parents, the older folks hooray-ed and whooped like they were the guests of honor that had finally arrived.

"Hey, you guys made it!" Mrs. Bakugo cheered, lifting her glass up to greet them. "Now the real fun can begin!"

"Honey!" Mr. Bakugo scolded with a laugh. "Not so loud, we're in public."

"Did you guys have a good time?" Mrs. Uraraka asked them. She was probably the most-sober out of the four of them, but that wasn't really saying much. "See anything neat?"

Katsuki and Ochaco looked at each other. Before either could say anything, a waitress in a light purple polo shirt appeared by the table and laid two glasses of water in front of them. She greeted them with a cheery "Aloha", and asked if they would like anything else to drink. Ochaco, who didn't fully understand, deferred to Katsuki, telling him she wanted the same drink he had gotten for her the day before. He relayed her order in English to the waitress - apparently the beverage was called "Coke" here in America. Katsuki didn't order anything for himself. After carrying Ochaco on his back across the beach in the blazing sun, water was the only thing he wanted. The waitress smiled, nodded, and stated she would be back later to take their food orders.

"The food here is great!" Mrs. Bakugo exclaimed. Then she leaned over the table, her eyes locked on Ochaco. "Have you ever had real American food, my dear?"

Katsuki rolled his eyes, his suspicions that his mom already had a bit too much to drink confirmed - she became _very_ friendly when she was drunk, and called everyone "dear", "sweetheart", and other pet names.

"Only the stuff that they make back home," Ochaco answered. Honestly, she was just glad that her mom's earlier question about the tide pools seemed to have been forgotten. She didn't want to worry her parents with her near-death experience - and she didn't want to make Katsuki look bad in front of his. "I like to go to McRonald's sometimes, because it's cheap and filling."

Mrs. Bakugo's lips curled into a sneer at the mention of the fast-food franchise. "That's just a knock-off, sweetheart. Hell, that isn't even what it's called here! But I'm talking about _real_ American food; like hamburgers, pizza, hotdogs, or apple pie?"

Ochaco blinked, and shook her head. Then she turned to Katsuki and asked under her breath "Wait, what do they call it here?"

Ochaco's dad burst into laughter. "I'm afraid none of us ever had the luxury of affording real American food."

Mrs. Bakugo gasped as if Mr. Uraraka had punched her in the face. "This is unacceptable, and must be remedied at once!"

As if summoned by magic, the waitress in the purple polo appeared once more, a smile on her face. Mrs. Bakugo fixed her in a hard stare, and then loudly claimed-

"We'll have one of everything!"

The waitress didn't react, didn't move or write anything down. Her expression wavered into confusion as the occupants of the table all stared at her, waiting to see what she would do next. Mrs. Bakugo cocked an eyebrow at the girl, curious why the waitress didn't rush off to place the excessively large order. Then she noticed that her husband and the Uraraka's were snickering, trying to contain their laughter.

"What? Too much?" She asked, embarrassment reddening her already pink cheeks. Her enthusiasm didn't seem to match the atmosphere of the table like she had thought. But Mr. Bakugo just laid a hand on her shoulder and managed to speak between giggles.

"Honey," he started, face red and small tears in his eyes. "You just yelled at the poor American girl in Japanese!"

Mrs. Bakugo blinked, her lips forming a small 'o' as she realized that she had forgotten to switch over to English before speaking. She snorted, and all the adults at the table burst into laughter. Ochaco, too, put a hand over her mouth to hide her giggles. Katsuki slumped back in his chair and slapped a palm over his eyes. His parents must have been drunker than he suspected if they were forgetting how to speak English. But he was hungry - his aching and growling belly wouldn't let him forget that - and the waitress hadn't budged, although she did seem at a loss. Since his parents were too caught up in their laughter, Katsuki decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Hey," he said in English, and the waitress's head snapped around to him. "Sorry about them. Just bring us two baskets of fries for now."

Smile returning, the waitress quickly wrote down the order, then rushed off after a small "thank you". Katsuki turned back to the table where his and Ochaco's parents were still huffing and wheezing through their laughter. His dad's face was a red as a candied apple, and Ochaco's mom had her forehead buried into the table cloth. Katuski rolled his eyes and picked up his glass of water.

"You know what, I like you guys," Mrs. Bakugo stated as she wiped a tear from her eye. "Hey! How about you guys join us for our fishing trip tomorrow?"

Ochaco and her parents perked up. Katsuki jerked in surprise, coughing and spluttering around his mouthful of water, but his folks ignored him. Her father leaned forward, intrigued by the notion.

"Fishing trip?" He asked. "What kind of fishing trip?"

"Every time we come here, we charter a boat to take us out for some deep sea fishing," Mr. Bakugo explained, clearly the subject expert. "The boat captain is an old friend of ours who immigrated here, so he speaks Japanese."

Ochaco had never heard of "deep sea fishing", but it sounded strange and mysterious. Her father, however, had a glimmer in his eyes that was different from the glaze of alcohol.

"The boat might be a little cramped for six people," Mrs. Bakugo picked up, sharing a considerate look with her husband. "But I'm sure Captain Kobe won't mind."

"What would we be catching?" Mr. Uraraka asked, with a tad too much enthusiasm.

"Mostly tuna," Mr. Bakugo replied, a dreamy look in his eye. "But if we're lucky, we might catch some sailfish!"

Ochaco's dad seemed to forget how to breath for a second, and his eyes were far away - probably somewhere on a boat in the middle of the ocean with a rod in his hand. She could practically see the desire on her father's face, and she couldn't really blame him for being excited. Mr. Uraraka led a busy life, after all. His job as a construction manager kept him too preoccupied to pursue any interests, and his job as a husband and dad took precedence on his days off. This opportunity was too good to pass up.

"I think that sounds great!" Turning to his wife, Ochaco's dad looked to her desperately. "What do you say, honey? I don't think Jason has anything planned for us tomorrow."

Mrs. Uraraka hesitated, and Ochaco knew exactly why. Just like her, her mom had a sensitive stomach. Even Ochaco had to admit that the thought of being on a rocking boat surrounded by rolling waves made her a little queasy. Mrs. Uraraka, however, smiled at her husband and laid a hand on top of his.

"I'm okay with it," she said, and Mr. Uraraka's face lit up like the sun. "But only if Ochaco wants to go."

Her parents both turned to look at her. She in turn looked to Katsuki. If anybody was going to give her a reason not to go, it would be him. This was part of his family vacation, and if he didn't want her butting in on it, then she wouldn't. Spending a day on a boat with him and his family, she had to admit, did sound like a lot of fun. If there was anything she had learned over the short couple of days that she had been in Hawaii, it was that where ever Katsuki was, so was an adventure. Either way she would respect his wishes. Ochaco watched carefully as he sat back in his chair, crossed his arms, and gave her a shrug, as if to say _"why not?"_

That was as close to a _yes_ that Ochaco was going to get, and her stomach fluttered with excitement. "I would love to go!"

"Then it's decided!" Mrs. Bakugo cheered. "We leave first thing in the morning. Make sure you bring lots of sunscreen and a hat to cover your face!"

His parents grinned widely as they dove into the details and itinerary of the fishing trip with the Urarakas. Katsuki couldn't find it in himself to feel annoyed, but there was no way he was gonna admit that having Ochaco and her parents along sounded like a good time. Her family just seemed so... _wholesome_.

And speaking of wholesome, the waitress returned once more to the table - but this time, she was carrying two large helpings of fries, still hot and steaming from the fryer. Katsuki's stomach grumbled greedily at the sight of them. Ochaco, too felt her mouth watering from the smell.

"Wow," Ochaco's mom gaped at the food. "They're huge! Why are they so big?"

"That's American food for you." Mrs. Bakugo watched the waitress set the baskets down, and immediately swatted away Katsuki's hand before he could pull it in front of himself. "If you think this is big, just wait until the luau at the end of the week."

"Oh, believe me, we couldn't be more thrilled about the luau." Mrs. Uraraka said as she searched the table and her lap for her napkin.

"Honey, it's on the ground," Mr. Uraraka mumbled to his wife. It had slipped from her legs while she was laughing.

Mrs. Uraraka thanked him and turned to bend over just as everyone else began to help themselves to the food. Ochaco only realized a moment too late that her mother would find more then her napkin under the table.

"Ochaco, honey, who's shoes are those?" Her mother's voice drifted up from the tablecloth. Ochaco yelped when a soft finger suddenly brushed against her toes. "Goodness, what happened to your feet?!"

"Um..." Ochaco fumbled for words, eyes going wide as she looked to Katsuki for help. He only frowned at her. His parents also heard the sudden urgency in her mother's voice. Katsuki's dad pushed out from the table and ducked his head down.

"Those are Katsuki's shoes," he replied. "Your knees are all scraped up, too, kiddo."

Ochaco yelped, her mom's hand grabbing her ankle and pulling her foot up off the ground. Forcing Ochaco to twist her chair around so her leg wouldn't get pinned under the table, Mrs. Uraraka rested her daughter's foot on her lap and removed the sandal, revealing the battered and bruised sole. Her parents gasped at the ruined skin - some of the deeper cuts had pulled apart, exposing raw flesh still pink with agitation.

"Ochaco! What on earth happened?" Her mother looked up at her in worry. Ochaco could only imagine what she was thinking.

"It's not as bad as it looks, mom, I promise."

"Not as bad as it looks?" Her father scoffed. "Your shoes are gone, and your feet look like a first grader's paper mache project. Katsuki is all banged up, too."

Katsuki's mom leaned across the table towards her son and asked, in the loudest whisper possible, "You two weren't... _fooling around_ , were you?"

The silence that overcame the table was so thick, it could be cut with a knife.

"Hell no, mom!" Katsuki shot back, but there was a quaver to his voice. He couldn't tell if the heat on his face was from anger or from certain... _images_ that had popped up in his head because of his mother's words. "That doesn't even make sense!"

"Then what really happened?" Mr. Uraraka asked sincerely. "Please, tell us."

The four adults stared at the two teenagers, more sober now than they had been all afternoon. Ochaco and Katsuki shared a look. His face was still red and flustered, and she knew he wasn't going to be the one to step up and explain their little mishap. That was probably for the best - it would all sound better coming from her. Ochaco told her mother about the events that had transpired at the tide pools, sparing a few details about the near-death experience. When she was done with her short tale, her parents and Katsuki's parents were silent for a long while, starring at the two of them while the french fries got cold.

"Oh honey," her mother started, releasing Ochaco's foot. "That was very brave of you."

"How could you let her get hurt?" Mrs. Bakugo glared at Katsuki from across the table. "You call yourself a hero?"

Katsuki, much to Ochaco's surprise, did not bite back at his mother's jabs. The teenage boy glared up at his mother from underneath the fringe of his hair, but his usual fire was gone, hands gripped into tight fists. Dropping his gaze, Katsuki made a _tch_ sound and squirmed in his chair. Ochaco knew something was wrong - perhaps his mother's words had cut a little deeper this time.

"Now honey, you and I both know that those tide pools have always been dangerous," Mr. Bakugo said in an attempt to placate his wife. He turned to the Uraraka's and continued. "The locals have been trying to get that area secured for years."

"That's no excuse Masaru, and you know it. Please, allow us to make it up to you." Mrs. Bakugo, ignorant to her son's quiet behavior, twisted around in her chair to her purse that was hanging over the back. When she faced forward again, she was holding her clutch wallet in her hands. "There's a really nice little store here, just to the left when you reach the lobby. Go buy yourself a nice pair of sandals, on us."

"No, no that's not necessary." Mr. Uraraka intervened. "Really, you don't have to do that."

"Please, I insist." Katsuki's mom gave Ochaco's parents a hard look that said 'no' was not an option. "It's important to have sandals here. Let us do this small favor for you, to make up for our son's... shortcoming."

Ochaco's mom and dad shared one look with each other as Mrs. Bakugo fished a shiny credit card out of her wallet. Ochaco, though, was staring at Katsuki, whose gaze remained firmly fixed on the tablecloth in front of him.

"Alright then," Mrs. Uraraka conceded. "But you use your discount on everything, okay Ochaco?"

Mrs. Bakugo stretched out her arm towards her son, who looked up at her begrudgingly. "Go with her, show her where the shop is, and Katsuki," she flicked the credit away just as he was about to take it. "Don't go wild with it, okay? When you get back, we need to get ready for dinner with our client."

Katsuki growled deep in his chest as he snatched the card from his mothers fingers. Standing from the table, Katsuki shoved his hands into his swim trunks and turned away from everyone.

"Let's go, Pink Cheeks," He barked over his shoulder.

Ochaco blinked in surprise before getting to her feet as well. But before she left, Ochaco took her paper napkin and grabbed two large handfuls of the fries from the baskets that were still untouched on the table. Carefully wrapping the napkin, Ochaco bowed her head toward the Bakugo's with a small "thank you", and rushed off to catch up with the teenage boy.

"That was a little harsh, Mitsuki." Masaru turned to his wife.

"No, it wasn't," she replied. "You know just as well as I do how selfish he can be."

"With all due respect, I don't think that's what you should be focusing on." Mrs. Uraraka leaned forward and placed her elbows on the table. Her expression was gentle and relaxed. "From what I heard, it sounded like your son saved our daughter's life! Isn't that something to be proud of?"

Mrs. Bakugo sighed as she watched Ochaco disappear inside the hotel. "You may be right, but I know my son - and he needs all the tough love that he can get."

* * *

The shop inside the hotel was "nice", Katsuki's mom hadn't made that up. But it was just so damn... touristy. Imagine all the cheesy trinkets one could find in all the souvenir shops in Hawaii were packed into one, giant showcase room. That was basically what Katsuki was looking for - and the absolute last thing he wanted to do was go shopping right now. He was hungry and frustrated. Those two things never made a good combination. At least he was able to get away from his parents, and out of that _extremely_ awkward situation.

His mother's words, however, had followed him. He couldn't get them out of his head, nor could he get over the hard knots they created behind his ribs.

"I'm sorry if I got you in trouble." Katsuki jumped at Uraraka's voice, too caught up in his own thoughts to notice that she had caught up with him. "I tried to explain what happened in a way that would put all the consequence on me, not you."

Sighing through his nose, Katsuki pulled his hands out of his pockets, as well as his mom's credit card. "Don't worry about it. That's just how my mom is. I'm just pissed that I didn't get to have one single _goddamn_ -"

A smell drifted up to his nose, and his eyes went wide. Snapping his head toward Uraraka, Katsuki's heart leapt at the sight of her holding out a bundle of french fries wrapped in a paper napkin out to him. His tongue began to water, but didn't take the offering until she smiled at him encouragingly. Snatching the napkin from her hands, he started wolfing down the fries a few at a time. Just having a different taste on his tongue was extremely gratifying, even if it was too greasy for his taste. He groaned with satisfaction before he could help himself, and Uraraka giggled at the sound. Katuski paused, realizing he was making a fool out himself - again - and wiped his mouth.

"Thanks," he said, but with his mouth full, it sounded more like " _hanksh_ ". He swallowed before continuing. "I owe you one."

"No you don't." Uraraka shrugged. "Let's just say that it's part of our deal, okay?"

Katsuki didn't try to push it, but there was no getting around the heavy weight that he still felt on his shoulders. So he took the lead and wound his way through the halls of _The Sea Cliffs_ till he and Uraraka reached a set of glass double doors. Stepping inside, Katuski heard Uraraka give an audible gasp. When he looked over his shoulder, he had to suppress a smirk. Uraraka looked around herself with wide, shiny eyes, ogling the various knick-knacks and trinkets hanging from the walls and racks. Her mouth slowly dropped open, and Katsuki could practically see her brain trying to keep up with barrage of colors that assaulted her eyes.

"Shoes are over here," Katsuki said bluntly, pointing to a corner of the store. Uraraka shook herself from her trance, though she still seemed dazed as she roboticly moved her feet to follow him.

The shoe section of the store was nothing to scoff at. Katsuki was pretty sure he heard Uraraka's mind blow a gasket as they wandered over. With a wave of his hand and a "go nuts', Katsuki sat down on the nearest bench and unfolded the napkin of fries on his lap. Uraraka floated over to the rows of shoes, a hand coming up to hover above the expensive sandals, but not touch them. Bowing his head, Katsuki focused on his food - but, as delicious as it was, the food wasn't as enjoyable as it should have been. When he was done, and his hunger was satisfied, Katsuki still felt empty. He wasn't naive, though. He knew why.

"Hey, uh, Bakugo?" Looking up, Uraraka was standing next to him, an opened box tucked under her arm. "Do you think these would be okay?"

Katsuki looked down at her feet and scowled at the sandals she had picked. They were flip flops that looked almost exactly like the last pair she had, but cheaper and less functional, if that was even possible. "Are you serious? Those would fall apart after the first step. You really want _those_?"

Uraraka winced at his verdict. "I was just trying to find ones that were cheap. I don't like spending other peoples' money."

Sighing, Katsuki finished the last of his snack and wiped his mouth with the napkin as he stood up. He stalked over to the selection of more efficient, pricier shoes.

"There's a difference between _cheap_ and _crap_ , Uraraka." Katsuki pulled a box off of the shelves and turned to face the other teenager. "Take that shit off and try these."

Uraraka took his place on the bench, accepting the box he handed her and watching curiously as he picked out a few other sandals for her to try on. When she opened the box, she gaped at the high-tech sandal with a thick black rubber sole and numerous adjustable straps. Katsuki laid a few more boxes down in front of her before she had even taken the first ones out of the box.

"Those'll get you started," Katsuki stated.

Uraraka blinked up at him like he had opened a third eye, then burst into a wide grin. "Thank you, Bakugo. What would I do without you?"

Her words, though meant to be endearing, made Katsuki's stomach drop.

"You would still have your shoes, for starters," he mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, just try on the goddamn shoes already!"

Katsuki turned away from her as she began the selection process, his hands tightening into fists. As much as he hated to admit it, his mother was right; Uraraka had gotten hurt on his watch. No good hero would have ever let that happen. He had to be better if he was gonna be the number one hero.

It didn't take long for Uraraka to find a pair of shoes that she liked - and low and behold, they happened to be the cheapest shoes out of all those Katsuki had presented for her. But they were a definite improvement compared to what she had. She had picked a nice pair of medium-weight sandals with pink straps that went between the toes, over the top of the foot, and behind the ankle. After they had put away the other shoes, Katsuki and Uraraka made their way towards the checkout register. Before they made it, however, Uraraka stopped abruptly. Katsuki looked back once he realized she wasn't next to him anymore to see that she was examining a spinning rack of sunglasses.

"Look, Bakugo," she said happily, picking a pair of blue-mirrored aviators off of the rack. "They're kinda like yours!"

Katsuki watched as she looped the glasses over her nose and looked at him with a blue steel expression. "What do you think, do I pull them off?"

Rolling his eyes, Katsuki stepped toward Uraraka. "Yeah, sure, whatever," he said blandly. "Whatever you say."

Uraraka's face fell, and she grew uncannily still as she stared at Katsuki through the blue aviators. Then she stepped up to him, and before Katsuki could figure out what she was doing, she had dropped her shoe box and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Heat flushed his face and his heart picked up pace. He could smell the salt in her hair and feel the softness of her skin, her closeness so foreign of a sensation to him that his brain short-circuited trying to comprehend what to do.

"W-what the hell, Uraraka?!"

"Stop blaming yourself." Though Uraraka's voice was soft, it carried a fierce undertone. "Stop focusing on the fact that I got hurt, and stop thinking about what went wrong."

Uraraka leaned back and looked up at Katsuki. He saw himself in the reflective lenses of the aviators, cast in blue.

"You saved my life, Bakugo. I'll never be able to thank you enough for that," Uraraka said as she moved the glasses up to the top of her head. "That should be all that matters - and if your mother can't see that, then, then...!" Uraraka puffed her chest in defiance. "Then screw what she says!"

Silence overtook the atmosphere, hanging heavy in the small space between the two of them. Katsuki stared at Uraraka, her eyes daring him to tell her she was wrong. This was the second time in a day that Uraraka had surprised him. A bundle of emotions piled up from his chest into his throat, and he wasn't sure whether he wanted to laugh or possibly cry. Finding neither reaction favorable, Katsuki did the only thing he could think of and reached a hand up towards Uraraka's face. She twitched in surprise at the touch of his fingers on her hair. Plucking the aviators from her head, Katsuki returned them to the rack next to them.

"You're face is too round for aviators," he mumbled, his voice rough. His hand searched the rack, picking another pair and holding them up for Uraraka to see. "Stick with ray bands. Now let's hurry up and get out of this damn Pollock store."

Uraraka took the sunglasses from Katsuki and gazed into the blue-purple mirrors of the lenses. Then she looked up at Katsuki and grinned, happy with the choice he had made. When they left the store, he was wearing his own sandals once again and Uraraka had a nice new pair of shoes as well as a shiny pair of sunglasses on her head. The weight from Katsuki's shoulders was lifted, his emptiness was whole. To them, it was like the traumatic events from that same morning had never happened.

Uraraka waved goodbye, but not before she expressed how excited she was for the fishing trip tomorrow at length. Katsuki, in not so many words, agreed. As the golden elevator carried him up to the hotel room where his parents were undoubtedly waiting for him, the young man couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Maybe he had misjudged Uraraka, maybe there was more to her than he had initially thought.

Maybe, he decided, she wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

A/N: I know this took a while longer to come out, so I made it a bit longer to read as recompense. Slow chapters like this are always difficult for me - in fact, I'm finding that fluff in general is hard. You writers that do it primarily have my respect. And if you got the Devil Is a Part-Timer reference, you're my favorite.

As always, read, review, and enjoy!


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